


Guardian

by BlueEyedAngel0614



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bodyguard, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2020-12-24 09:26:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 63,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21097184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueEyedAngel0614/pseuds/BlueEyedAngel0614
Summary: Twenty-four year old Yang Xiao Long was once one of the best Huntresses around. She traveled the world and made friends everywhere she went but something was always missing from her adventures. Now she works as a mercenary for hire, living a calmer life. When a Faunus family hires her to be their rebel daughter's body guard it seems like easy money. But when her ward turns out to be a familiar girl with golden eyes something sparks in Yang, giving her back the sense of adventure she thought she lost.Blake Belladonna hates feeling cooped up in her own home and feels smothered by her over protective parents so she sneaks out at night, looking for adventure. Knowing they can't force their grown daughter to stay home, her parents hire her a body guard, much to Blake's annoyance. But when a familiar girl in a leather jacket with lilac eyes shows up for the job she finds that maybe having a body guard won't be as bad as she thought.





	1. A New Job

Yang squinted against the bright, flashing, lights of the club at the bartender. "Strawberry Sunrise," she ordered. "No ice." 

As the bartender made her drink she spun around in her chair and took in her surroundings. It was a dance club, the kind she used to sneak into when she was a teenager. Now the loud music and sparatic light shows were a recipe for a headache._ I'm turning into my uncle._ She thought to herself with a sigh as she faced the counter again, accepting her drink. It was refreshing and sweet, exactly like the little sister the beverage reminded her of. 

She glanced at her watch and frowned. "He's late."

Pulling out her scroll she clicked on a file titled "Junior". He was the owner of the bar and small time gang leader. Illegal dust trafficking, gang violence, theft, the typical stuff. He was also her target for the evening. The police weren't getting anywhere with him, he knew all their guys, so they hired her to bring him in. A simple arrest with enough money to cover the rent of her cheap, run down, studio apartment._ He usually checks on his bartender right about now. Where is he?_

As if on cue a middle aged man in a suit slid into the chair next to her. "I don't think I've seen you before," he spoke smoothly, almost rehearsed. "I'm sure I would recognize a face as beautiful as yours around here."

_Show time._ Yang smirked over her glass and put on her best flirtatious smile. "Just moved into town," she turned to face him and crossed her legs, allowing one to gently stroke his calf. "I heard this was the best dance club around."__

_ __ _

_ __ _

She fought the urge to gag as he flashed her a pervy grin. "Well you heard right Blondie. But this is just for the normal people. Wanna see where the real fun happens?"

She leaned closer to him and placed a hand on his knee. "I would love for you to show me."

He led her upstairs, past two guards, and into a dimly lit, smokey, room. Around them people were sitting at tables playing Poker and Blackjack._ Add illegal gambling to the list of things he's guilty off._ Junior walked past all of them, giving the occasional person a nod or high five, and straight into what Yang assumed to be his office, locking the door behind him for privacy.__

_ __ _

_ __ _

"So whatcha think?" He asked as he plopped into his chair and spun around a few times. "Pretty swanky huh?"

He's almost making this too easy. She sat on his desk, facing him and gently grabbed his tie, tracing her fingers along the argile pattern. "I think you have a weakness for pretty faces Junior."

"Guilty as-" his smile fell. "Hey wait a second I never-"

Yang tightened her grip on his tie, pulling him forward, and covered his mouth. "I also think you've been a pretty bad boy Junior. The cops have been trying to get at you for months now and yet you always manage to just barely slip through their fingers," she uncovered his mouth and flicked her wrist allowing her seemingly harmless golden bracelets to turn into their actually deadly shotgun gauntlets. "So how do you wanna do this? The easy way or the painful way?"

He glared at her. "Ain't nothing easy about me."

"Coulda fooled me," she saw him reach for something under his desk and sighed as she just barely dodged the giant club he brought out. "Painful way it is then."

He leapt over his desk and swung at her. Once, twice, three times in a matter of seconds. Instead of dodging this time she blocked the attacks with her arms. He's stronger than he looks. She thought to herself as the pain from blocking settled in her shoulders. _I might use that against him._

_ __ _

_ __ _

"So the cops hired ya huh?" Junior asked as he jumped back a few feet, breathing heavy from his frantic swinging. "You're pretty well trained for a mercenary."

"I had a bit more formal training than most," she smirked. "Now I'm trying to do this without causing to much damage to your nice night club so if we can just-"

She was cut off as Junior put the giant club on his shoulder and fired two missiles from it. The blast sent her flying through the locked door and right onto the Poker table. She groaned as she got up and nodded to the shocked gamblers. "Evening guys," she clambered off the wrecked table as Junior climbed over the ruble that was once his door. "You may want to scatter though I feel it's about to get real messy in here."

"You're in over your head here Blondie!" He shouted as his gamblers scrambled for the door. "You shouldn't have picked a fight with me."

Yang yawned and stretched her arms above her head. "This isn't much of a fight," she laughed. "But don't worry it will be over soon."

"I ain't goin to jail!" He roared. "This ends with you in a body bag!"

He lunged at her, club dragging behind him, and she rolled her eyes. She smirked at the look of confusion as she easily sidestepped him, followed by fear as her eyes changed from lilac purple to blood red, and finally to shock as her fist connected with his face with twice the force of the hits he gave her earlier. There was a click and the deafening sound of a shotgun as she fired off two shots from her gauntlets then silence as Junior rolled on the ground, unconscious. 

The two guards from downstairs burst through the door and skidded to halt at the sight of their boss sprawled out on the floor and eyed Yang's smoking gauntlet nervously. "Care to join him?" They quickly turned on their heels and ran out the door. "Men," Yang sighed, "So damn typical."

From the ground Junior groaned and Yang connected her foot to his temple to make sure he stayed comatose. "What was that about a body bag?" She grunted as she hoisted him over her shoulder. "God's you're heavy!"

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Here ya go," Yang huffed as she tossed the still unconscious body of Junior at the feet of the chief of police. "One annoying, pervy, small time gang leader. Just as you ordered."

"Not sure I wanna know how you hauled him here on that motorcycle of yours," the chief nudged Junior with his foot. "You did bring him back alive right?"

"No Chief I thought I'd bring you a dead body to brighten up the place," she scoffed as she plopped into a chair. "Yes he's alive."

"Well you succeeded where my men couldn't," Chief sat at his desk, completely ignoring the comatose man on his office floor. "Sure you wouldn't consider my offer of a job?"

"Nah you guys have to many rules," she shook her head. "You just pay good so I keep coming back."

He was about say something when his phone rang. He gave her an apologetic look before answering. "Vale Police Department this is...ah...Mister Belladonna. I'm sorry sir but my answer remains the same. You have your own personal security no? I understand that but I really can't afford to send anyone there. We are police officers sir not hired-" he paused and looked in Yang's direction. "Actually sir I think I know someone who can help you. They aren't a police officer but I can assure you they are good at what they do. Yes. Of course sir. I still have the file you sent. I will hand it to them personally. Expect them there on Monday."

"Please tell me you didn't do what I think you just did," Yang groaned.

"You're always picking up odd jobs Yang. This is steady work and really good pay. You know you wouldn't have to worry about this so much if you didn't stop being a Huntress."

Yang averted her eyes from him. "Fighting Grimm gets old after a bit. I had my fun and did my good deeds."

"Isn't your sister still out there? Hunting Grimm."

She shot him a red eyed glare. "Yeah and she's damn good at it too!"

"Sorry. I know it's been a while since you've seen her," he reached into his desk and brought out a file. "The Belladonna family is looking for a bodyguard for their daughter. She has a tendency to run off and always gives their guards the slip. He's paying four thousand Lien a week with bonus if something happens. Plus he's providing residence and food. You could get out of that shack you call a home."

"Hey leave my shack alone!" She snapped as she stood and snatched the file from his desk. "Why does she need a bodyguard anyway," she flipped through the file quickly. "No pictures but the name sounds familiar."

"I'm sure it does. The Belladonna's are a well known Faunus family and the head of the family, Ghira, used to lead the White Fang quite a few years ago. Now he is the chieftain of Menagerie, though he is still very active in fighting for equality, peacefully of course."

Yang let out a slow whistle. "All that would definitely put a target on his family, even among some of his own people. You said his daughter gives security the slip?"

He leaned forward and rubbed his temples. "Apparently she is incredibly good at running. Ghira is a protective father and worried about his daughter roaming the streets at night."

Yang nodded in understanding. "Not everyone is as nice to the Faunus as you and I. What makes you think she won't run from me?"

He gave her half smile. "Oh I'm sure she will. But I'm also sure you'll figure something out."

Yang snapped the folder shut and stood up. "Well guess I have no choice since you already accepted the job for me. See you later Cheif!"

"Be careful Xiao Long!" He called after her.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The usual please," Yang took her usual seat at her usual bar and looked around at the usual people. "Same old, same old."

"Hard day?" Yang looked across the bar at Velvet, the bartender. She slid Yang her drink and her rabbit ears twitched as she waited for an answer. 

"Eh just a job for the Chief," she shrugged. "What about here? Anything new?"

Velvet sighed and leaned her elbow on the counter. "A couple young Hunters came in here earlier but Yatsuhashi and Fox had to throw them out."

"Why is that?" Yang gripped her glass tighter as Velvet pointed to her ears. "Assholes. How did Coco take it?"

Velvet's face flushed at the mention of her girlfriend. "She doesn't know. She's been real busy and stressed at the store lately I don't want her to worry."

"You know she's gonna hear it from Yatsu or Fox if you don't tell her right?"

Velvet sighed and began to clean a glass. "Fine I'll tell her tonight. Anything new in the adventures of Yang Xiao Long?"

Yang shook her head. "Nope. Just the usual. A few escort jobs here, clearing a few small Grimm there, and a job or two for the chief. But I did take a new job today. Start monday."

"Oh?" Her ears perked at the prospect of gossip. 

"Yeah it's-"

"I said leave me alone!"

Yang and Velvet snapped their attention to the other end of the bar where one of the regulars was harassing someone Yang had never seen before. She had jet black hair that donned a silk black bow, angled features, and mesmerizing golden eyes._ She's beautiful._ Yang thought to herself.__

_ __ _

_ __ _

"Oh come on sweetheart it's just a drink," the obviously drunk man tried to lean closer to the woman but she leaned away from him. "Playing hard to get are we?"

"I'm not playing anything," the woman hissed. "I just want you to leave."

"But I don't wanna."

Yang made her way to the drunk man and placed a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to face her. "She said leave her alone pal."

He squinted at her like he forgot his glasses. "Who the hell are you?"

"Doesn't matter. When a woman says to leave her alone you leave her alone. Now get out of here before I have my friends over there escort you out," she jabbed her thumb behind her where Yatsuhashi and Fox were waiting for things to escalate.

"Whatever," he grumbled and stormed out mumbling several curse words.

"Thank you."

Yang turned to look at the woman and felt something she hadn't felt in a long time. Excitement. "No problem," she held out her hand. "Yang."

The woman smiled as she took it. "Blake."


	2. The Runaway

"They're taking things too far!"

"Yes but some believe them to be right."

"It's straight violence is what it is!"

"What will you have me do sir?"

"Send word that I wish to have a meeting with Sienna. Something isn't right. I need to know why she's doing this."

"I'll send someone at once sir."

Blake jumped away from the door to her father's office as his head security guard walked out with a sigh. "Hey Saber!" She flashed him a kind smile. "Dad's not being difficult is he?"

Saber chuckled and scratched the long scar over the right side of his head. "No it's nothing like that. It's just always stressful when he deals with White Fang matters. But he is ready to see you Miss. Whenever you're ready."

She thanked him and and opened the door to her father's office cautiously. "Hey dad," she spoke softly as if trying not to startle him. 

"Have a seat Blake," Ghira gestured to the couch in front of his desk and joined her there. 

"Everything all right?" She asked as he rubbed his temples.

"Do you know why I asked you to see me?"

"For our usual tea date?" It was a joke, sort of. She and her father did often meet up for tea but she knew better this time. She was in trouble.

"Blake this is serious," his voice was commanding but he never raised it. He was always a gentle giant. "You can't keep ditching your guards."

Blake huffed and crossed her arms. "Why do I even need them? You don't think I can take care of myself?"

He eyed her weapon that was strapped to her back and shook his head. "No. I know you're a good fighter dear but that doesn't mean you shouldn't have protection. Our family carries great weight wherever we go and it's not always good. Being a Faunus already puts a target on you but once they find out who you are then it only puts you at more risk. I'm only taking precautions."

"Dad I'm not a kid anymore. You can't keep treating me like one."

"I'm not treating you like a child, Blake, I am ensuring I don't get a phone call saying my daughter is in the hospital or dead. Your mother and I both have guards too so it's not like I'm singling you out."

"Do you know how hard it is to go anywhere with a group of heavily armed Faunus around you?" She leaned back and crossed her legs. "If anything you're drawing more attention to me."

Ghira smiled mischievously. "You're mother and I figured that was part of the problem. So we are taking the steps to procure you a human bodyguard. Just one person who can blend into the world around you but has had the proper training to keep you safe."

"You're kidding right?" She stared at her father, slack jawed. "You would need a police offic-" the look on her father's face told her she was right. "Dad! The police haven't exactly been our friends in the past. Not to mention your meetings with the Fang. If they get wind of that it could destroy the already rocky relationship you have with Sienna."

"My business won't be of any concern to them. Their priority is to keep you safe and out of trouble," he stood and made his way back to his desk. "I have a friend in the VPD. He should be able to find someone to keep an eye on you," he look at her from over his half-moon glasses and gave her a small smile. "So please try to be nice to whoever he sends. You'd be making a good example for our family if you do."

Blake chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment, contemplating what to say._ It's pointless._ She thought to herself._ I can't make him change his mind. Not yet at least._ She turned on her heel, stormed out of his office, and made straight for her room. She hung her weapon on a rack and huffed as she flopped onto her bed. "Why does he have to be so damn protective?" It's not like she could really stay mad at her parents. She knew they had their reasons for being this way.

"Blake? Honey?" The soft voice of her mother was followed by a gentle knock.

"Yeah come in," she called.

Kali walked in with a tea tray that held a kettle and two tea cups. "Since you and your father didn't have tea today I figured maybe you and I could have a cup?" Her mom beamed at her and twitched her ears happily, making the earrings on them jingle like bells.

Blake sat up and patted the spot next to her. "Sure, I was getting thirsty anyways," she accepted the cup from her mom and breathed in the steam. She smiled at the sent. It was homemade, one of her mom's recipes. "So you're on board with this whole body guard thing?"

"I am," she nodded. "I wish I wasn't. I wish it wasn't needed. I know it sucks having to have someone follow you around Blake and it would be a different story if-"

"If I wasn't your daughter?"

Kali's ears flattened and her face fell as she sighed heavily. "Blake did you know there has already been three attempts on your father's life in the last two weeks alone?"

Blake coughed as she choked on her tea. "What?! No. By who?"

"We aren't entirely sure. Some think it's members of the Fang who don't like that he sympathizes with humans and others believe it to be humans who don't want your father here in Vale. In reality it could be both. But whoever it is they could attack you as well and your father would never forgive himself if that happens."

Blake sighed and set her tea back on the tea tray. "So I have until Monday before this bodyguard shows up?"

Kali nodded. "I heard your father on the phone with the police as I passed his office," she placed a hand on Blake's leg and smiled. "If I were you I would enjoy the next two days just don't do anything too reckless."

"You're telling me to sneak out?" 

"I'm not telling you anything dear," Kali shrugged and stood up with the tea tray. "It won't be as bad as you think it will be Blake I promise."

Blake watched her mother leave and listened for her footsteps to fade down the hall before she jumped out of bed. "Guess I'll take her advice," she smirked at herself as she dug through her dresser, pulling out a black, silk, ribbon. Whoever was attacking her family would be looking for a Faunus, but if Blake hid her ears underneath the bow then she would look just like every other human. No attention drawn to herself. No problems. 

Sneaking out her window was easy. Getting past the guards was a different story. There was no set route for them to follow for perimeter checks and most of them were all too familiar with her breakouts.

"She likes to use her clones as decoys," she could hear Saber filling in his underlings. "Do not fall for it. Her clones don't talk so if you don't get answer then it's not her. Just pass it by and keep looking."

Blake smiled. "Thanks for the idea Saber." 

She created a clone of herself and sent it sprinting off in the opposite direction she was going. On her way she purposely sprinted past two guards who yelled for her and one tried to give chase before the other stopped them.

"Wait! Remember what Saber said? That's a clone the real Blake wouldn't just sprint by us. She's still around here somewhere. Let's get looking!"

She sprinted until the house was well out of sight before she came to a halt and bent over, using her knees for support, to catch her breath. She pulled out her scroll and dialed the only other person she knew who would be up for a night on the town.

It rang twice before a cheerful voice sounded from the other end. "Yo! Blake what's up?"

"Hey Sun," she greeted as she made her way into town. "I managed to bust out tonight. I was gonna hit that little pub we saw last time. It looked pretty chill, it's close to home, and honestly I just need a drink after today."

"Man I would love to," Sun's voice dropped, "but I promised the boys I would go out with them. Scarlett's boyfriend broke up with him and he's a damn mess so we're gonna try and cheer him up."

"That sucks," Blake frowned and kicked a rock. She liked Scarlett but never liked the jerks he always found himself with. "Tell him I said that guy never deserved him anyway."

"Hear that buddy!" Sun's voiced faded as he pulled the scroll from his ear to holler at his heartbroken friend. "Blake agrees with us! That guy didn't deserve you!"

She could hear a barely coherent thank you from the other end as she came up to the door of the pub. "Well I'm here so I will let you tend to Scarlett. Good luck!"

"Thanks Blake we might need it," he chuckled. "Give us a call if you need us. You know we'll beat up some guy if we have to. Might actually make Scarlett feel better."

She smiled as she entered the pub and took a seat at the far end of the bar. "I have you on speed dial. See ya."

As soon as she hung up she was greeted by a nervous looking Faunus girl. The rabbit ears on the top of her head twitched as she asked what Blake wanted to drink. "We have a few deals going on right now. Anything on tap is just two hundred Lien and our shots of Firebrand are only a hundred."

She looked behind the girl at their tap and made a face, she wasn't a fan of beer. "How are your martinis?"

The girl smiled. "Best on this side of town."

Blake toss some Lien on the counter. "I'll take one please," she looked around her. The bar was full of regular people and Faunus alike and she smiled. It had a very calm atmosphere and both races were getting along. "So what's your name? My dad always told me to learn your bartenders name."

"Velvet," her rabbit ears fell to one side as she tilted her head when she smiled.

"So, Velvet, what sparked the name for the bar?" She asked the as she slid her drink to her. "Crosshares. It's unique."

Velvet blushed. "My girlfriend and I own this bar as well as a clothing store further downtown. Crosshares is a play on crosshairs, like the crosshairs of a rifle scope, only it's hares like a rabbit because I'm a rabbit Faunus. We currently hold the record for the bar with the least Faunus/human discrimination in it."

Blake scratched the top of her head where her bow hid her ears. It felt almost unnecessary here. "That's awesome. It's good to see a place where humans and Faunus get along."

"Not to say we don't get issues like that," her smile fell. "You actually just missed an altercation. A few guys were refusing to be served by me. Caused a huge scene about it. Thankfully some of my patrons put themselves between us as my bouncers made their way over to kick them out," she pointed to two guys standing by the door. Blake wasn't sure how she missed them. One was small looked to be blind while his friend was almost as tall as her father and just as built. The bell above the door rang and Velvet excused herself as a tall blond woman in a leather jacket strolled in. 

Blake looked the woman over. She was beautiful, dangerously so, and she radiated with confidence that made Blake almost jealous. 

"Hey hot stuff," the slurred speech of the guy a few chairs down from her forced her attention away from the new bar attendee. 

"Can I help you?" 

"You look like you could use a drink," he said as he stood up to stand next to her.

She raised her still full drink at him. "No thank you. I'm good."

"Its a free drink darling what's the harm?"

Darling. She bristled at the pet name. It brought with it a thousand memories and a vile taste in her mouth. She hated to be called darling. "Leave me alone," she seethed through her teeth.

"Awe come on!" He scooted a bit closer. "I won't bite unless you ask."

"I said leave me alone!" She snapped.

The next few moments passed slowly for her. Her harrasser leaned in closer, assisting it was just a drink, when a solid hand forced him to turn around. It was the blond woman. She told him to leave her alone and pointed to Velvet's bouncers who looked ready to force the man to leave. He eventually drug his feet out the door, cursing the whole way.

She looked into the lilac eyes of her savior. "Thank you."

The woman stared at her for a moment before shrugging. "No problem," she held her hand out. "Yang."

She smiled as she took the warm hand. "Blake."


	3. Small Talk

"Is it alright if I sit here?" Yang gestured to the seat next to Blake.

"Please do before another one finds it," Blake hurriedly patted the bar stool. "I feel like a thank you isn't enough. Let me buy you a drink?"

Yang shook her head as she took her seat. "I drove my motorcycle here. I usually just have a drink or two before I head home. But how about you let me know when you're ready for another one and I'll get it for you."

Blake eyed her drink. It was still over half full. "I'll keep that in mind," she took a sip from her glass. "So, Yang right? I take it this is your regular bar?"

Yang nodded as she raised her hand to get Velvet's attention. "I know the owners and helped them set the place up when it started. It's pretty quiet here, which is a nice change from my job, plus Fox and Yatsuhashi are good at keeping the peace. There's a pretty strict rule about starting fights here. That guy that was messing with you? He'll be lucky if they let him in again."

"What can I get you?" Velvet asked. "Sunrise?"

Yang shook her head. "A shot of Firebrand please," she turned to Blake. "Want one?"

"I don't even know what it is?"

"Are you allergic to cinnamon?"

Blake shook her head. "No I actually like to add it to my tea sometimes."

"Make that two shots then Vel!" Yang grinned mischeiviously as she accepted the shots from Velvet and slid her some Lien. "To meeting new people," Yang held up her glass to Blake.

Blake clinked her shot to Yang's. "Cheers," she downed the liquid quickly and immediately began to cough. "Gods that burns!"

Yang tilt her head back as she roared with laugher and gave Blake a few good pats to the back. "It's called Firebrand for a reason Blake. Heavy emphasis on the fire."

Blake grumbled a few more low coughs before attempting to speak. "I wasn't expecting it," she muttered as her attention was caught by Yang's golden bracelets. She wore one on each hand. They were bulky and, honestly, a little banged up. "Family heirloom?"

Yang raised an eyebrow in confusion before she followed Blake's gaze to her gauntlets. "These?" She held one up and Blake nodded. "No, they're not even jewelery," with a quick flick of her wrist her gauntlets revealed their true form and she gave them a quick cock back to show off the shells inside before flicking them back to their original, hidden, form. "Pretty neat huh?"

Blake stared at her in awe for a moment. "You're a Huntress?"

Yang sighed and shook her head as Velvet took their shot glasses. "I used to be but not anymore. Now I'm just a simple mercenary. I barely even go outside of Vale anymore."

"Why would you give up being a Huntress? I've always dreamt of going out and seeing the world. There has to be more out there than just," she motioned around them, "this!"

"Oh there's a lot out there but it isn't all good," Yang assured.

Blake frowned. "I know. There's bandits and of course the Grimm but there is still sights I want to see. The chance to make friends everywhere you go. To make a difference somewhere and impact people's lives in a good way."

Yang watched Blake talk with a small smile. It had been a long time since she had seen someone get so excited about Huntsmen. She wasn't even sure how long. _I really should contact Ruby soon._ "Why don't you go train to be one? Most people start training at a younger age but that doesn't mean you can't shadow a Huntsmen for the experience needed to pass the exam."

"I really don't need the training," Blake smirked. "My father taught me how to fight ever since I was little and I've fought a few Grimm here and there but he would never let me put myself out there like that. According to him it's too dangerous."

Yang looked Blake over. "Why let what _he_ thinks influence what _you_ do?"

"Its a bit complicated," Blake huffed then rested her head on one hand so she could get a better view of Yang's face. "So you've got to have a few good stories. I'd love to hear some?"

"I once jumped into a Nevermore's mouth and punched it out of the sky."

Blake waited for Yang to laugh. To give away that it was a joke but it never came. "You're joking right?"

"Do I sound like I'm joking?"

"Well, no, but how do you punch a Nevermore out of the sky?"

Yang shook her gauntlets at her. "A few explosive rounds down the throat did the trick. I was with my sister. We were younger, just started training. It was her idea actually."

"Your sister told you to jump into a giant flying Grimm's mouth and you just did it?"

Yang shrugged. "Sounded like a good idea at the time and it worked so no harm no foul."

"What about after you became a Huntress? Any good stories from then?"

Yang smiled at memories. "Plenty of them."

"You're just going to leave me hanging with the Nevermore story?"

"For now," Yang pointed to the clock on the wall. "Bar closes in twenty minutes but I will gladly continue this conversation tomorrow if you'd like. Meet you here around eight?"

_Could I sneak out again tomorrow?_ Blake thought to herself as Yang awaited her answer. She wanted to hear those stories. No. She wanted to see Yang again. She would find a way to sneak out. She stood and tossed a few more Lien on the counter for Velvet as a tip. "It's a date then."

Yang watched Blake leave the bar before she realized she had been holding her breath awaiting her answer. "I gotta get home!" Yang called to Velvet and tipped her.

"Don't forget your beauty sleep for your date tomorrow!" Velvet teased.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She was caught coming home, she knew she would be, she expected it. What she didn't expect was the lack of a lecture from her father. He was up, waiting for her to come home but as soon as she walked in the front door he simply smiled at her. 

"You mother told me you two talked," he said. 

"Why didn't you tell me there were people trying to kill you?" Blake stared him down, demanding an answer.

"I never wanted you to know about the attempts on my life Blake."

"Is that why you don't take me with you anymore?"

"It is," he nodded sadly. He held up his hand before she could speak, hushing her instantly. "I know you can take care of yourself Blake. I know you are a well rounded fighter. Hell I trained you. But at the end of the day you are my daughter. My only daughter. I won't risk it. Not again."

Blake looked at her feet. Hazy memories of a night she barely remembered flashed in her mind._ I wish I knew what happened that night._ "I understand," she said softly.

"Your mother also informed me that she told you to enjoy these next two days," Ghira huffed. "Since you won't be needing them come Monday I have instructed the guards to let you do as you please tomorrow without their assistance," he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder as he passed. "Just please call if something goes wrong."

Blake made it back up to her room before she realized something. "I never got Yang's number!" She grumbled in frustration as she removed the bow from her ears. "And I have no clue what to wear!" She shuffled over to her closet. "Black, black, darker black, _lighter_ black. Gods I need a new wardrobe!" She settled for a dark pair of jeans, an off the shoulder deep purple shirt, and knee high boots. "Close enough."

As her eyes grew heavy she smiled at the building excitement in her chest but not because she didn't have to worry about sneaking out of her own home for once. She was excited to see Yang again. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I trust you have your rent Miss Xiao Long?" Yang grimaced as the perpetually raspy voice of her landlord was the first thing she heard when she walked into her apartment building. 

_She sounds like she's inhaled exhaust all her life. _Yang thought as she rummaged through her pocket. "Yeah yeah," she tossed the Lien at her landlord. "Just a heads up. I'm taking a job that is providing me room and board and I have no clue how long I'll be on this one."

"I'll rent out your apartment to temporary guests while you're gone," she nodded as she counted the money Yang threw at her.

"Just no wackos this time," Yang warned as she opened her mailbox. Empty as usual. "They totally trashed the place last time."

"Fine, fine. How long before I rent it out permanently?"

"If you don't hear from me in two weeks then go ahead," Yang waved to her as she climbed the stairs. 

She had an odd relationship with her landlord. They weren't exactly friends but they had a mutual respect for each other. _She always seems to know when I get paid. Not that I've ever been late but still. That woman has a nose for cash. _Yang sighed and tossed her keys on her coffee table before throwing herself on her couch. 

"I wonder if I should have given Blake my number," Yang mumbled as she fumbled through her list of contacts. "Oh well. If she stands me up I can still get a drink as Crosshares."

She paused as she reached the R's in her contact list. Looking up, her eyes found a familiar picture hanging to the right of her television. It was an old picture of her and her sister before they started their training. Yang had her arm wrapped around her little sisters shoulder and Ruby was holding two fingers up behind Yang's head. 

"Damn it," Yang grumbled and dialed her sisters number. 

_"Hello! You've reached Ruby Rose. I'm either asleep or on a job right now so leave a message."_

Yang paced her apartment as she spoke. "Hey Rubes it's your sister. I know it's been awhile since I called you I just thought I would check in. I'm taking a bodyguard job for a Faunus family. I start on Monday. But tomorrow I actually have a date...or at least I think it's a date. Anyway...call me when you can sis. I know you're busy. Love you."

Yang sighed as she sent the message and crawled into bed. "She's either going to be really glad I called or really mad." 

That was the first time she had contacted her sister in eight months.


	4. Date Night

**A/N: I think I'm gonna spoil you guys with a few chapters today. Hope you enjoy them!**

Blake stood outside of Crosshares and stared at her phone anxiously. It was almost eight. Yang should be there soon. She adjusted her shirt for the tenth time and leaned against the brick wall of the pub.

"Are you sure you don't want to wait inside?" Velvet stuck her head out of the door and stared at her in concern. "It's a little chilly out tonight. You'd be warmer in here."

Blake shook her head. "No thanks Vel. The fresh air is nice."

"If you say so," she sighed and ducked back into the bar to tend to her patrons. 

"It's almost eight," Blake huffed. "If she isn't here by eight ten then I'll just head home. It's not like it's far."

"Well well," a familiar slurred speech to her left made her snap her head up. It was the drunk man from the bar last night. "How about that drink?"

Blake rolled her eyes, silently wishing she hadn't left her weapon on its rack at home. "How about no," she snapped. 

"I don't see the harm in a little drink among friends."

"Oh is that what we are? Call me skeptical but I don't always want to connect my fist to my friends' face. Repeatedly."

He inched closer and Blake flattened herself against the brick wall. "We could be great friends if you just let me buy you that drink."

"This didn't end so well for you last time," she hissed. "What makes you think today will be any different?"

He leaned in even closer and Blake could smell the alcohol. His whole body reeked of it. "Because you don't have that pretty blond around to save you."

Just as he reached his hand up to try and touch her, and before she was able to react to him, the roaring engine of a motorcycle shook the air. The biker had driven up onto the sidewalk and put their motorcycle between Blake and her attacker. When the man tried to make another move the biker jerked their bike forward, almost knocking him over.

"C'mon Blake get on!" The voice coming from under the full faced helmet was undeniably Yang. 

Blake jumped onto the back of the motorcycle and wrapped her arms around Yang's waist. "What was that about not having a pretty blond around?" She teased as Yang sped off down the street. 

As soon as they were a few blocks from the bar Yang pulled into an empty parking lot and turned her engine off. She expertly spun herself around on her bike so she was facing Blake and whipped off her helmet.

"Are you okay?" She asked frantically, concern etched into her face. "He didn't touch you did he? I swear I'll kick his ass."

Blake placed a hand on Yang's arm instantly calming her. "Breathe Yang. He didn't even touch me. Now that's twice in two days that you've managed to save my ass. From the same guy no less. I feel like I should be paying you!" she chuckled and hopped off the motorcycle. "So what's for dinner?"

Yang let out a relieved breath as she hung her helmet off her handlebars. "I hope you like seafood," she flashed Blake a grin that made her heart skip.

_How did she guess that it's my favorite food? _Blake kept her question to herself and instead nodded enthusiastically. "I love it."

The restaurant Yang brought them too was only a couple blocks from where she parked the bike and it was much fancier than Blake had anticipated. Inside the building was dimly lit and soft piano music played in the background. She almost felt underdressed not to mention Yang's casual look made her stand out even more than her already fiery aura made her. 

"Miss Xiao Long!" The hostess greeted them warmly and motioned for them to follow her. "It's been awhile. Follow me."

Blake ignored the looks of the five other groups that had gotten there before them and waited until the hostess left before she spoke. "So did you make a reservation?"

Yang chuckled as she shook her head. "I don't need to make a reservation here."

"Lemme guess. You know the owner?"

"Yes but it's not like it is with Crosshares," Yang started when their waiter showed up. She held up a single finger to tell Blake she would continue in a moment. "I'll have a dust margarita, red, and a glass of water."

Their waiter nodded and looked at Blake who was looking and Yang with a confused expression. "I'm sorry but what did you just order?"

"A dust margarita," Yang smirked. "This place is famous for them," she gave the waiter a good pat on the chest. "Tell her about them."

"Our dust margaritas are a simple margarita that is infused with a dust of your choice that gives the drink a bit of a flare. Miss Xiao Long ordered a red meaning it is infused with red dust and therefore is presented with the rim on fire."

Blake's eyes widened in shock. "And you drink it just like that?"

"Well I blow out the flames first," Yang laughed. "I might be daring but I would like to keep my lips thank you."

Blake found herself glancing at Yang's lips. They were full and seemed to have a perpetual smirk with a hint of mischief._ I would like you to keep them too. _She shook her head to clear her mind and focused her attention back on the waiter. "What other dust do you have?"

"We have the red as I've told you. Blue which keeps the drink refreshingly cold for hours, it's perfect for sippers. The yellow creates a miniature storm in your drink but don't worry it's harmless. And the black uses gravity dust to float your ice above your drink for a few minutes before gently lowering them into the glass."

"I'll take the black dust margarita and a water please," the waiter nodded and scurried off, allowing Blake to focus back on Yang. "So you were saying how you knew the owners."

She huffed as she thought. "It was a few years ago, I was still working as a Huntress, when a few Ursa managed to wonder into town. They smelled the seafood here and crashed in through the front window. I managed to get here just before the owner was killed. I've gotten the VIP treatment here every since."

Their waiter returned with their drinks and as amazing as Blake's look with its ice gently floating it was the dancing flames over Yang's drink that kept her attention. Yang winked at her before gently blowing the flames out and taking a long drink. 

"So you still want to hear those stories?" 

"I would love too."

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You did what?!" Blake's voice squeaked as she leaned over her food. She had seemed incredibly engrossed in Yang's stories since she started. 

Yang reached across the table and pulled Blake's empty plate out from under her before she got food on the nice shirt she was wearing. "You make it sound like I did something amazing."

"You saved an entire village from a Deathstalker by yourself by blasting it's pincers and stinger off then embedding the stinger through its eyes! Deathstalkers are not joke Yang. I saw my dad fight one years ago and even he had to have help."

"Yeah trust me I got a lecture from my dad, uncle, and my baby sister," Yang's lips turned up into a small smile at the memory of Ruby trying to look so intimidating with her hands on her hips, pacing the room. "Do you know how weird it is to get a talking to by your younger sibling?"

Blake shook her head. "Nah I'm an only child," sadness flashed in her eyes, almost like she wished she had siblings. "It's probably why my parents are so protective of me. But we didn't come here to listen to my stories. So why did you give it all up?"

"Give what up? Hunting?"

"You seemed to be doing so much good in your life. You've been to almost every continent on Remnant, you've saved entire villages, you've made so many lasting friendships all over the place, and yet you just up and quit one day? Why?"

Yang sighed. She had left the life of a Huntress for several reasons but it really boiled down to the loss of her sense of adventure but she didn't think that answer would satisfy Blake's curiosity. A quick glance at the clock revealed it was getting close to closing time. 

"That is a story for another time," Yang stood and tossed a hefty amount of Lien on the table. "The owner insists I don't pay since I saved him so I have to pay and dash or he will try to shove the money down my throat," she a answered the question in Blake's eyes. "C'mon I'll drive you home."

"That's probably not the best idea," Blake hastily said as they made their way out of the restaurant. 

Yang glanced at her out of the corner of her eyes and nodded in acknowledgement. "Your parents?"

"Yeah. I was actually able to leave today without any trouble and I would rather not push my luck."

Once back at the bike Yang put on her helmet and gestured to the passenger seat. "I'll take you to Crosshares then. I take it it's close to your home?"

"I would love that," Blake smiled warmly at her and Yang was thankful her helmet hid the heat that was rising in her cheeks. 

She drove slower on her way back and she purposely took a longer route, just so she could continue to feel Blake's arms around her. _This can't be normal. _She thought to herself._ I just met this girl yesterday so why do feel like this? _She unconsciously rubbed her chest like it was sore._ My chest feels tight and I can't look at her without my heart trying to beat it's way out._ She parked in front of Crosshares and got off the bike with Blake. _Guess there's one way to tell just how real this is. Good thing I start that job tomorrow just in case this goes horribly wrong. _

"Thank you for the ride," Blake flattened her windblown hair and straightened the black bow she kept on the top of her head. "I had a really good time tonight Yang. We will have to do it again, minus the drunk asshole."

Yang reached out and grabbed Blake's wrist as she turned to leave. "I want to...uh...I want to try something."

"Try what?"

Yang answered her by gently pressing her lips to Blake's. Her body locked up in fear that Blake would shove her away but she let out a shocked moan as Blake returned the kiss, deepening it before ending the contact with a quick nip to Yang's bottom lip. 

"It seems the distraction your lips have caused me all night was incredibly justified," Blake smirked and gave Yang another quick kiss before turning to walk home. "Keep in touch!" She called over her shoulder.

Yang stood on the sidewalk, paralyzed, for what seemed like an eternity as her brain tried to process what had just happened when she felt something in her hand. It was a crinkled up piece of paper with a scroll number and a heart under the contact. She quickly pulled out her scroll to enter the number when her screen began to flash and vibrate. She stared at the familiar number in shock before hesitantly hitting the answer button.

"Been a while hasn't it sis?"


	5. The Bodyguard

"Been awhile!" Yang pulled the scroll away from her ear as her sister shouted through the other end. Her voice always got higher when she yelled. "Eight months sis. I don't get a word from you in eight months and then a voicemail out of nowhere and all you can say is 'Been awhile'!"

Yang sighed and put on her helmet. She pressed a button on the side so her call would be wired to the it, allowing her to ride home and still talk. "It's not like you call me ya know."

"I didn't think you wanted to hear from me," Ruby's voice dropped back to its usual tone. "You seemed like you needed space."

"I didn't need that much space Rubes. But I know what you mean. I didn't think you wanted to hear from me either," Yang parked her bike, glad she lived close to the bar. "So where are you guys at?"

"Um...well...hold on," she heard scuffling as Ruby pulled the scroll away from her ear. "Weiss! Where exactly are we?"

"Somewhere in the middle of Vacuo!" Her sister's partner yelled back in the distance.

"Sounds about right," Ruby chuckled. "It's really all one giant desert where we are right now. We just stopped at the nearest village with an Inn."

Yang huffed a soft laugh as she made herself comfortable on her couch. She remembered those days. "On a job or just wandering?"

"Job. Giant Deathstalker, a few bandits, the usual," Yang could hear her eating something. "But anyway! How did your date go? Were they nice?"

"She was incredibly nice and completely enthralled with my stories of when I was a Huntress."

"Ooh hot lady date! Weiss! Yang went on a date!"

"Yang goes on dates?"

"Yes she goes on dates!" Ruby scolded. "What's her name?"

"Blake, we met at Crosshares."

"Oh man I haven't been there in forever! How's everyone?"

"They're good. Coco runs the clothing store and Velvet takes care of the bar with the help of Yatsu and Fox. They're good at keeping the peace there."

"I'll have to stop in and say hi next time I'm in Vale."

"Maybe I'll go with you. If you want that is."

"Of course sis! We have eight months worth of catching up to do," there was a moment of awkward silence as both of them tried to think of what to say next. "It's getting late though shouldn't you be resting up for your big bodyguard job tomorrow?"

"I suppose," Yang groaned. "I wonder what kind of spoiled rich kid I'll be protecting?"

"You don't know who you're protecting?"

"Nope I wasn't even given a picture," Yang put the scroll on speaker as she changed into something to sleep in. "Well at least I have some practice with rich kids after training with Weiss for so long."

"I heard that!" Weiss's disapproving tone echoed through Yang's room. It seems Ruby had also put Yang on speaker. 

"It was a joke calm down. I'll call you when I can Ruby. I'm not sure what the rules on this job will be so I may not be able to tell you much."

"Just don't wait eight months to call me this time jerk," Ruby's tone was teasing. "Love you sis."

Yang smiled, glad she was able to reconnect with her sister. "Love you too."

After hanging up Yang laid in bed and stared at her ceiling, a common pastime for her, and watched the lights from the cars outside dance across it. It lulled her to sleep but even as she drifted off her lips still burned from her kiss with Blake.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Blake! It's time to get up!"

Blake groaned and pulled her blanket over her head. She could barely sleep at all last night. Every time she tried she was reminded of her kiss with Yang. Whenever she talked Blake was distracted by her moving lips and mischeivious smirk. And her eyes. _Her eyes literally sparkled when she was telling me her stories. _Blake thought to herself. _They were so expressive._

_"It seems the distraction your lips have caused me all night was incredibly justified."_

Her face burned as the memory flooded her mind. "I can't believe I said that!"

There was a solid knock on her door again. "Blake?" Her father's voice was always soothing in the morning. "Are you up? Your bodyguard is here. You should come down and meet her I think you'll really like her."

"Be down in a minute!" She called as she jumped from her bed and got dressed. Normally she would drag out her mornings but she really needed the distraction. She was still slipping her arms through her jacket when she made it downstairs. "Hey sorry I'm a little late I had to-" she looked up and stopped dead. Standing in the middle of her living room, still in her leather jacket, was Yang. 

They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity before Yang coughed to break the silence and stood up, extending her hand. "It's nice to finally meet you Miss Belladonna."

Blake took her hand, her perpetually warm hand, and nodded slowly. "The pleasure is mine Miss...?" She knew Yang's last name but she couldn't let her parents know that.

"Xiao Long," she gave her a smirk that told her they would definitely be talking about this later when her parents weren't around.

_How is she being so calm about this?! _Blake was sure she was red faced and her heart was racing. She needed to get her away from her parents. "Would you like a tour of the house?" She offered.

"That would be nice," Yang nodded. "I should get a decent layout of the place."

"What a good idea!" Her father gave a quick pat on the back. "We'll come with you."

Blake was about to object before her mother pulled him back. "Let them get to know each other in peace dear. You can be a bit intimidating sometimes. Yang may not be willing to open up with you there."

"I suppose you're right," he sighed. "Well I'll be in my office. You two should stop by when you're done."

Blake was already dragging Yang down the hall. "Will do!" She called over her shoulder before darting into the nearest room. "What the hell?!"

"You have a library," Yang mused as she took in the floor to ceiling bookshelves that surrounded the wall. "You must love to read."

"I didn't bring you here to talk about books!" Blake harshly whispered and snapped her fingers to get Yang's attention. "You're my body guard? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why didn't you tell me you were a Faunus? Or that you were a Belladonna? Or that there are people out there who want your family dead?" Yang countered and crossed her arms. "You knew I was a mercenary, I never mentioned this job because I didn't know how classified it was, and I didn't even know you would be the one I was protecting since the file didn't come with a picture."

Blake paced the floor. Her date is her body guard. She kissed her body guard! "Oh gods my parents! How long were you out there with them? Did you tell them?"

Yang gently grabbed her by the arms to stop her pacing but it did nothing to help her racing heart. "Breathe Blake. I put two and two together when I saw your mom, you look just like her, then I saw the family photo on the table and I figured the less they know right now the better," she released Blake and offered her hand again. "It seems we had a bit of miscommunication over the last two days. My name is Yang Xiao Long. Former Huntress, current mercenary. I'm twenty-four years old, I hail from Patch where I lived with my father and little sister, and I'm your new body guard."

Blake took Yang's hand and smiled, glad she wasn't mad at her. "Blake Belladonna, twenty-three, feline Faunus, equal rights activist, and the person you will be protecting," she looked at her feet in embarrassment. "So where does that leave us?"

Yang gently lifted Blake's chin and she saw that hint mischeiviousness in her smile before their lips touched. It was a brief, soft, kiss but it held the answer Blake was looking for. "I don't know about you but I definitely feel something here," Yang motioned between them. "I don't want to give this chance up just because I happen to work for your father. Besides, I like the idea of protecting someone I actually like."

"Awe you like me," Blake teased and playfully shoved Yang's shoulder.

Yang barely budged and wrapped one arm around Blake to pull her closer. "Oh I really like you." 

They inched closer and Blake's heart raced in anticipation for another kiss, a more heated kiss, but just before their lips touched...

"Blake! How's the tour going?" Her father's voice echoed through the library and the two women quickly jumped back from each other. "I never saw you two leave the library so I just thought I would see if everything was alright."

"Everything's fine dad!" Blake called back and quickly picked a book from the shelf, one she's read many times. As Ghira rounded the shelves she flipped to a random page and pretended to be showing Yang the book. They both looked up at him and smiled innocently. "She asked if I liked to read so I'm showing her one of my favorite books."

Ghira eyed them for a moment before letting out a loud laugh. "I'm glad you two are getting along! See I told you having a body guard wouldn't be as bad as you thought."

As Ghira left the library Blake turned her attention back to Yang, who winked at her in return. "I think you might actually be right Dad."


	6. A New Feeling

"Gods how big is this house?" Yang asked after Blake showed her yet another guest bedroom. 

"You know I'm not sure," Blake paused to think. "This is our second house so I honestly never checked."

"You have two homes?"

"Technically my parents have two homes. I, myself, don't have one," she opened a door that led downstairs to a basement. "Now c'mon I think you'll like this room."

Yang paused at the top of the stairs. "Is this were you reveal that you're really a family of serial killers and I'm your next victim?"

Blake rolled her eyes and grabbed Yang's hand. "If I wanted to kill you I would have done it by now."

"Fair enough," Yang could hear the familiar sounds of sparring as they reached the bottom of the stairs and into a training room, which was being used by two of the Belladonna guards.

"C'mon kid you gotta keep your hands up!" One barked as he knocked his sparring partner down. He was older than the other, with a long scar down the side of his head. "The second you lower your guard is the second you're dead."

"Hey Saber!" Blake waved at the scarred man. "Come here for a second I want you to meet my body guard."

"Saved by the bell kid," Saber said as he helped the trainee to his feet. "Go cool down and get that lump looked at I might have knocked you around a bit to hard," he grabbed a towel as he stepped off the foam mat and held his hand out. "Saber Rodentia. Welcome."

Yang took his hand in a firm handshake. "Yang Xiao Long. You must be the captain then?"

"How'd you guess?"

Yang shrugged. "Well it sure as hell wasn't that kid and you're the only one around here that isn't Ghira who looks intimidating."

"I'll take that compliment," Saber chuckled and gave Yang a quick once over before turning to Blake. "Mind if I test her out?"

Blake shook her head. "As long as she's up for it then I'm good with it."

Yang cracked her knuckled. "I could use a warm up," she slid off her gauntlets and handed them to Blake. "Hang onto these for me?"

She walked onto the mat with Saber and they grasped each other's forearms in a quick shake before taking a few steps back to begin their spar. After circling each other a few times Yang was the first to attack, a few quick punches that he easily blocked and countered with a quick strike to her sternum. 

"You're pretty quick," Yang smirked.

Saber jerked his chin in Blake's direction. "I had to be. I've been chasing after this one since she was little and believe me she's only gotten faster. So are you gonna actually fight me? I want to see if your reputation proceeds you."

"So you've heard about me huh?"

"Beat me and I'll tell you."

"You first."

Saber let out a quick chuckle, the only sign he gave before Yang had to throw her arms up in defense. _He's fast but he doesn't really hit that hard. Speed over power then. _She side stepped his next volley of punches and grabbed his wrist. With a quick twist she spun him around and pinned his arm against his back.

"Mercy?" She teased.

"Not quite!" He snapped his head back  
and there was a crack as it connected with hers.

Yang stumbled back and groaned as her vision blurred. _Uhg this is like that time I tried to arm wrestle Nora completely wasted._ She shook her head to gain her bearings in just enough time to block a kick to the chest. She hooked her arm under his leg and flipped him effortlessly but he caught himself and managed to twist himself back upright. 

Suddenly Saber straightened his posture and gave her crooked smile. "Yeup! Definitely live up to your reputation."

Yang lowered her hands slightly in confusion. "But neither of us won."

He shrugged as he stepped of the mat. "No but if I had taken a hit from you in that state then I wouldn't have just lost, I would likely be in the hospital."

She glanced at Blake, hoping for an answer. "You didn't mention your eyes change color," Blake said as she cleared the distance between them and leaned in closer to Yang's face to get a better look at her blood red eyes.

Yang leaned back, hoping the few inches of space would stop the heat rising in her face. "Uh yeah," she stammered. "They do that when I'm mad or-"

"Or when you use your semblance," Saber finished for her. He tossed her a towel. "I've heard of you. You used to be quite the Huntress but lately you've been doing odd jobs. A few small Grimm clears, an escort job here and there, and recently I hear you got rid of a small time gang leader for the chief of police. But no matter how hard I looked I couldn't find a single job where you failed."

"I see you did your research," Yang commented as she patted her face with the towel before tossing it in a nearby hamper. "Any particular reason for the homework?"

"I've been looking after the Belladonna family for a long time," Saber explained. "I helped them raise Blake so I just wanted to make sure her body guard was up to my standards."

"And did I pass the test?"

"With flying colors," he nodded. 

Yang felt a tug on her arm. "Let's head back up," Blake suggested. "I still haven't shown you your room yet."

Yang followed Blake back upstairs. "Well you were right. That was definitely one of my favorite rooms in this house."

Blake laughed as she opened a door. "I would imagine this one would be your favorite room then."

Yang's mouth dropped as she took in her room. _This thing is the size of my living room!_ The bed in the corner was easily a queen size, making it larger than her single full sized mattress, there was a large wooden dresser against one wall and a nightstand with a simple lamp next to the bed, and hanging off the wall was a holoscreen that took up half the space there. She had slept in sketchy hotel rooms, clients couches, tents, and even right on the dirt but she's never been able to stay in a room this nice for a job.

"I hope you like it," Blake said as she leaned on the door frame. "My mom just made sure you had the essentials but my parents said you could decorate it however you wanted. 

"I love it!" Yang exclaimed. "But I think it's still just my second favorite room."

Blake frowned, confused. "Then what's your favorite room? It's the kitchen isn't it?"

"Ooh close! But that one only ranks in number four behind the training room," Blake opened her mouth. "And the library only ranks in at number five," she added before Blake could speak.

"Then what other room would it be? Just about every other room I showed you was a guest bedroom."

Yang smirked. "You haven't showed me this particular room yet." 

Yang watched as Blake held up her fingers, counting all the rooms in the house that could possibly be Yang's favorite and huffed a laugh as the sudden realization crossed her face. "Oh," Blake whispered, her face flushing red. "You're talking about my room."

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Why does she want to see my room?! _Blake frantically thought as she tried to hide the red in her cheeks. It wasn't working. She shakily pointed to the door right next to Yang's. "We're actually neighbors. My parents figured it would be best if you slept nearby."

"You know I should probably get a layout of your room. Just to see how many windows or other points of entry could be in there."

Blake nodded silently and wished she didn't melt so easily when Yang gave her that mischeivious grin. _She could probably get me to do anything with that damn smile. Better keep that weakness to myself. _She pushed open her door and welcomed Yang inside. She didn't think her room was anything special, it looked just like Yang's except the decor was a bit darker and she had a computer desk against one of her walls. 

"See it's nothing special," Blake laughed nervously. 

Yang was silent as she wandered to her window and checked to make sure it was locked then gave it a few taps with her knuckles. "I wouldn't say that," she finally said. "It's yours so I would say that makes it pretty special," she leaned against the wall and sighed. "Your window is double paned bulletproof glass. As long as you keep it locked you'll be safe."

Blake sat on her bed and stared at Yang in confusion. "Wait. You actually came in here to check my windows?"

"What else would I come in here for?" Yang's question was innocent but the glint her eyes was anything but. 

Blake's ears flattened to the side and she stared at her hands that rested in her lap. "N-nothing,' she stammered. 

She saw Yang's boots enter her vision and when she looked up she almost collided heads with her. Yang leaned closer to Blake and put a hand on either side of her, making Blake have to lean back on her hands. Her heart raced and her breathing came in short bursts. _She smells like sunlight._

"Is this more like what you had in mind?" Yang's voice was quiet and had a hint of sensuality behind it. 

_ Where's your courage Belladonna!_ She chastised herself. _You had plenty enough to kiss her last night._ But last night they were outside a bar, she was slightly intoxicated, and she definitely didn't think Yang would be in her room so soon. 

Yang laughed. "Relax Blake I wouldn't do anything without your say so first," she started to stand back up.

_Fuck it!_ Blake grabbed Yang by the collar of her jacket and pulled her down until their lips met. Yang gasped in surprise and stumbled forward but was able to catch herself before she crashed on top of Blake. 

This kiss was different than the other two they shared. Blake entwined her fingers into Yang's golden hair and Yang flicked her tongue against Blake's lips, silently asking for entrance. Blake let out a soft moan as Yang gently traced her fingers along Blake's stomach and she reached up to try and remove Yang's jacket, eager to see more of her.

"Blake?" The girls jumped at the sudden knock on the door and Blake was glad she remembered to close it. "Is Yang with you? I need to go over some stuff with her."

"Yeah she's here!" Blake called back. "I swear you're like a new toy to him," she grumbled. 

Yang laughed and straightened herself up before quickly brushing her lips against Blake's in a silent farewell. "We'll rain check on this," Yang winked before she opened the door to greet her dad, suddenly serious. "What can I do for you?"

"Come with me to my office if you would. I'd like to go over some things this job might require of you" he said and waved to Blake before leading Yang away. 

Blake leaned back on her bed and placed her hand on her chest, watching it rise and fall quickly with her heartbeat. _Well that was new._ She hadn't felt like this with anyone, certainly not with _him_. It was a feeling she had only heard about but never felt. Desire.


	7. Stay

Ghira's office was small, just a desk, a bookshelf, a few chairs, and a single couch off to the side. Yang took in a deep breath and found the smell of incense to be calming.

"Have a seat Yang," he gestured to a chair that sat across from him at his desk. "Do you drink tea?"

Yang glanced at the teapot on his desk and nodded. "I drink just about anything sir."

"No need for formalities Yang. Ghira will work just fine."

She thanked him as he handed her a cup and took a quick sip. "So what is it you need to go over?"

"How filled in are you?"

Yang stared at him questioningly. "Just what the file said. Chief told me your work as a peaceful equal rights activist has put you at risk with both the humans and the Faunus. I recall seeing something about multiple attempts on your life recently. Sounds like you could use the body guard."

"I survived those attempts because I have guards," Ghira sighed. "Saber has yet to fail me. Blake, however, is not as safe as she thinks she is."

Yang set her cup down, worried. "What do you mean?"

"Have you heard of a man named Adam Taurus?" 

"I think just about everyone's heard of him by now," Yang growled. "He's a White Fang lieutenant with a bloody history."

Ghira nodded. "He is. He has been a member of the White Fang for quite some time now. He was always a little brash but his charismatic nature always made it easy to forget any slip ups but he's only gotten worse."

"What does this have to do with Blake?"

"Adam and my daughter were...intimate," he grumbled. 

"Oh," Yang couldn't help the rising anger in her chest. Anger at a man she had never met over a woman she met two days ago. "If I may Ghira, what happened?"

He sighed and poured himself another cup of tea, he offered one for Yang but she graciously declined. "At first Blake was blinded by her fondness of him to see what he was becoming and despite my and her mother's warnings she continued to do jobs with him for Sienna, my replacement as high leader. One night a job went wrong. They were supposed to simply gather intel on the whereabouts of someone who had been abusing his Faunus employees. They got their intel but Adam killed the informant. Loose ends he said."

"Murder I say," Yang grumbled.

Ghira nodded. "Indeed. After that Blake distanced herself from him and eventually cut all ties. She told us that, looking back, all the signs had been there she just didn't want to believe that he had changed so much. She saw something in him that night. Something that scared her."

"And now you're worried he will come after her?"

Ghira stared at his desk for a moment and when he looked up at Yang she was shocked to see his eyes glassed over with the threat of tears. "He already has," he took in a shuddering breath and wiped his eyes. "After she came home I tried to spend as much time with Blake as I could, I wasn't able to he around as much as high leader. We went hunting together, cleared some Grimm that wandered to close to town, and I took her with me on my travels. About two years ago we went to Mistral for a Faunus peace rally where I was scheduled to make a speech at. When I was done Blake and I were suppose to meet at a local tea shop but she never came. I got worried and myself and Saber split up with a few guards to find her. It took hours but we finally found Adam hovering over her with his sword ready to strike. Blake was broken, bloodied, and unconscious."

"How did he even manage to take her during the rally?" Yang asked. She could feel her blood beginning to boil. 

"We don't know. When Blake woke up in the hospital she had no memory of what happened. The last thing she remembered was giving me a hug before I went up to speak," he glanced at the picture on the corner of his desk. A picture, Yang assumed, of his family. "I want to know what happened to her that night, what he did, but I don't think I'll be able to stand hearing it."

Just the thought of possibly seeing Blake in the state Ghira described instantly chilled her heated blood but she didn't want him to know that. It was when she reached for a nearby box of tissues for him that she realized she had been gripping the arms of her chair so hard her knuckles had turned white. "She thinks you have her guarded because of the attempts on your life," she said as she handed him the tissues, her stiff hands screaming in protest. "But it's really because an attempt was already made on hers."

He nodded as he wiped his face. "Have you ever taken a body guard job before Yang?"

She shook her head. "Some escort jobs where I was hired to keep a client or his merch safe but not full on body guarding."

"Do you know what this job may entail?"

She knew what he was getting at. _Would you protect my daughter at the cost of your own life?_ "I do," she replied instantly.

Ghira let out a long breath of air and followed it with a laugh to cut the tension in the room. "Protecting her is your number one job Yang but I was so glad to find you were a girl her own age. My daughter could use a friend."

_Hopefully a bit more than a friend._ Yang silently wished. "So what are the rules?"

Ghira stared at her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean what am I allowed to do? What is she allowed to do? What is she _not_ allowed to do? How long will you need my services?"

"Neither of you are prisoners here Yang," Ghira laughed. "You are both free to come and go so long as you do so together. I'm sure Blake will be happy about not having to sneak out anymore," his smile fell slightly. "As for how long we will need you around I cannot say. Why? Are there other jobs you need to get to? I know some mercenaries takes multiple jobs."

She shook her head. "None right now to speak of. I do have a an apartment downtown that my landlord rents out to visitors while I'm on long jobs. I told her if she didn't hear from me in two weeks to go ahead and find a new tennant."

"Well we will definitely need you longer than two weeks," he mused. "Let's see how the first couple weeks go and see what happens from there. If things go as well as I hope you might have a more permanent standing here with us. But why don't you head back to Blake for now. Hopefully she hasn't run off."

Yang thanked him and went to leave but paused at his door. "If I did accept another, small, job such as clearing some Grimm or something minor would it be alright to bring Blake along. She mentioned you trained her how to fight?"

Ghira nodded. "I did. She isn't one for boasting so I bet she failed to tell you that she's actually beaten me a few times," he grinned proudly at Yang's shocked expression. "I see no harm of it I suppose so long as she is with you and you run the job by me first."

"Thank you sir, uh, Ghira," she closed the door gently behind her and smiled._ He's actually pretty cool. I thought he would have been a bit more suffocating._ She frowned as she remembered his story. _I wouldn't blame him if he was. I couldn't imagine finding my daughter in that state. _

She made her way back to Blake's room. She got lost twice along the way, but she still managed to make it without asking any of the guards for directions. "You still in there Blake?" She asked as she knocked on the door a few times.

There was a rustling as Blake made for door and Yang couldn't help but smile as Blake opened the door excitedly. "You guys were in there for awhile. Is everything okay?"

_I would imagine Ghira doesn't want her to know what happened that night. Not yet. But I can't keep it from her forever. She deserves to know._ Yang shrugged nonchalantly. "Just the usual stuff. He wanted to make sure I was up for the task. Oh and you're really going to like this part..."

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"He seriously agreed to that?" Blake and Yang sat across from each other on her bed, a small bowl of popcorn sat between them. Blake had made it while Yang and her father were talking. "For two years he won't let me go anywhere without a hoard of heavily armed guards then suddenly you show up and he's all about letting me go out on adventures."

Yang laughed and tossed a few pieces of popcorn into her mouth. "Maybe he's starting to realize he can't keep you here forever. Or maybe he just knows how awesome I am."

Blake rolled her eyes and flicked a popcorn kernel at her. "Whatever. So are you actually going to take me on a few jobs or were you just speaking hypothetically?" 

"Oh I'll take you on a few," Yang smirked. "But first I will need to find one and I need to make sure you can really handle yourself out there. Ghira said you could fight but you've been out of the game for two years now so you're bound to be rusty."

"I'll have you know I train with Saber several times a week," Blake huffed and crossed her arms but a hint of a smile played on her lips. She was excited to train with Yang, someone with professional experience. She groaned as she laid back on her bed and closed her eyes. She was exhausted and the day was barely half gone. "Why am I so tired?"

"It's been a pretty long few days for both of us," Yang yawned. Blake could feel her get off the bed. "I'm sure some sleep would do us both some good."

Blake opened her eyes and saw Yang making her way for her door. "Wait!" She called. She could feel her face grow warmer as she spoke. "Stay with me?"

Yang smiled, and for once there wasn't any mischeivious nature about it. It was a genuine, sweet smile, and Blake felt like she was melting. "I was hoping you'd asked me that."

Blake slid over in her bed to make room for Yang and immediately laid her head down on her chest once she was situated. "You're warm," Blake whispered.

"I'm always warm," Yang said softly as she began to run her fingers through Blake's hair. 

Blake hummed in content and grabbed Yang's free hand to hold. Her feeling of desire from earlier was now replaced by something else, something she couldn't quite figure out. "You know you can touch them," Blake chuckled after noticing Yang was taking extra care to avoid her feline ears.

Yang's heartbeat skipped under Blake's ear. "I just didn't know how sensitive they were."

Blake guided Yang's hand to her ears. "As long as you don't pull on them it's fine."

Yang ran her thumb over Blake's ears gently and Blake's desire flared but she pushed it back. This moment was too perfect for her to risk losing. "They're soft," Yang mused.

"Did you expect them not to be?"

"I don't exactly go around touching different Faunus traits." Blake just grumbled in acknowledgment, she was to tired and to comfortable to speak. Just as Blake was beginning to drift to sleep Yang spoke. "You know I can't stay in here all night."

"Shhhhh," Blake hushed and clumsily placed her finger to Yang's lips. "Just stay 'til I fall asleep please?"

She felt Yang kiss the top of her head. "Of course."


	8. Pancakes

Yang stared at herself in the bathroom mirror and poked at the dark circles forming under her eyes. "That's two nights in a row I've barely gotten any sleep," she grumbled around her toothbrush. 

She stayed in Blake's room for hours after she fell asleep. She would have stayed there all night if she could but she worried that it would raise the suspicion of Blake's parents if they caught her walking out of their daughters room in the morning. So when she started to doze off herself she carefully slid Blake off of her and made for her own room where she hoped to get some sleep herself. After tossing and turning for who knows how long she finally sat up and turned on her holoscreen. She crashed at some point during a movie but her alarm went off at six in the morning like it did every day. 

"At least couple hours is better than nothing," she told herself as she left the bathroom. 

She shouldered through her bedroom door and grabbed her water bottle and a pair of gloves before heading back into the maze of hallways. It was quiet in the Belladonna house, only a few guards roamed the halls. "That snoring has got to be Ghira," she winced as past his and Kali's room on her way to the basement. "Now I know I saw a punching bag around here the other day. Aha!"

Yang filled up her water bottle at a nearby sink and set it in the floor, out of her way. She did a few stretches, some breathing exercises, and jogged in place for a minute to get warmed up before she taped her hands and threw on her pair of old, torn, yellow and black gloves. She gave the bag a few test punches to test it's durability before going through the motions of her exercises. Staying light on her feet she seemed to dance around the punching bag as her fists moved with deadly accuracy and speed. She dodged imaginary attacks and performed expert flips to avoid weapons that weren't there. Finally she stopped the swinging bag with one hand and bent down to pick up her drink. A subtle cough behind her told her she wasn't alone. 

"No wonder you came highly recommended," she spun around to find her spectator to be Kali. "I don't think I've ever seen hits that quick. But I'm glad that old bag is getting some use in. Ghira bought it ages ago and has never really used it."

"That was just some light stuff," Yang grinned over her bottle. "I didn't want to risk ripping it from the ceiling. You'd be surprised how many punching bags I go through at the gym."

"Your boyfriend must be terrified of you."

Yang violently coughed as she choked on her water but she covered it up with a laugh. "Oh I don't have a boyfriend."_ I'm sort of dating your daughter._

"I see," there was something in Kali's voice that sounded almost like she was testing something. Her father used the same tone when he asked her a question he already knew the answer too. "Well I'll be making breakfast here in a bit dear why don't you come up and join us."

Yang stared at Kali in confusion. "I was under the impression I would be eating with the other guards."

She laughed and waved her hand dismissively. "Oh don't be ridiculous Yang. Our guards usually eat at their own homes when their shifts are over."

"So they don't stay here?" She asked as she followed her upstairs. 

"They have the option to, gods know we have the room, but most choose to return to their own home. They all know they can stay here if something ever comes up though. Saber is the only guard who actually lives with us but he's more like family than anything. He joins us for breakfast sometimes if he's awake which hasn't been often lately since he's been taking the night shift," she gestured to a seat by the small island in their kitchen for Yang to sit at. "You aren't just one of our normal guards Yang. We hired you to protect our daughter though we both hope you'll be good friends." She eyed Yang out of the corner of her eye as she reached into the cabinet. 

_Something tells me she's onto something here. _Yang kept her eyes locked with Kali's and smiled. "You're daughter is an amazing woman Mrs. Belladonna. We're getting along great."

"That's good to hear. And Kali will do just fine Yang we aren't much for formalities around here," she came back down from the cabinet with a box. "How does pancakes sound?"

Yang's stomach gurgled at the mention of food. "It sounds fantastic. I haven't had good pancakes since academy."

Kali expertly began mixing the batter together. "The VPD chief sent us a copy of your file when he suggested you. It said you graduated from Beacon Academy. Second in your sparring class."

Yang nodded. "Yeup right behind Pyrrha Nikos. Kind of hard to compete with a world renowned fighter but we were good friends. It was one of her teammates who was famous for his pancakes. He made them every weekend."

"You must miss your friends."

Yang shrugged. "I haven't seen them in awhile but that comes with the territory of being in this line of work. We do make a point to meet up every year," she pulled out her scroll and checked her calendar. "That's actually coming up soon."

"What's coming up soon?"

Yang snapped her head up in time to see Blake shuffle into the kitchen. She had changed into some sleepwear at some point, a pair of black shorts and a simple white tank top, and Yang found it incredibly hard not to stare. 

"Oh Blake sweetie!" Kali cooed and paused in her task to give her daughter a good morning hug. "Yang was just talking about her time at Beacon Academy."

Blake sat in the stool next to Yang and intertwined her fingers loosely with her behind the privacy of the island. "I wondered which academy you went to. What was it like?"

"Ever been tossed off a cliff?"

Blake shook her head slowly, a little confused. "I, uh, can't say I have."

"It's kind of like that. Jarring and a little terrifying at first but once you land and get your bearings then it's fun."

"I'll take your word for it."

Blake still looked confused as Ghira emerged into the kitchen and their hands quickly snapped back to their side, much to Yang displeasure. "Something smells good!" He roared happily and hugged his wife from behind. Blake made a face but Yang smiled, she always like to see couple who were still in love. It gave her a glimpse of how her life could have been. 

She expected their breakfast to be silent and awkward but it was just the opposite. Ghira told stories of his time in the White Fang back when it was a peaceful organization, the Grimm he's hunted, and the friends he's made while Kali shared a few memories of Blake when she was little. Yang paid extra attention to those. How one of her feline ears had a small bend in it when she was a baby, how she used her semblance to win at hide and seek, or Yang's favorite, how she had the whole house on red alert because they couldn't find her for hours only to discover she had curled up in one of Ghira's gargantuan coats on the couch for a nap. 

With their food gone Blake stood up, a hint of pink still on her cheeks from the stories, and tapped Yang on the shoulder. "We should head into town today."

Yang stood and brushed her hands off. "Alright but where do you want to go?"

"You said a friend of yours owns a clothing store right?" Yang nodded. "We should check it out!"

"Sounds good," Yang smiled. " It won't take me long to get ready so meet me down at my motorcycle. I gotta dig up my spare helmet."

Yang all but ran to her room and threw on a simple outfit of tight jeans, an orange shirt, her boots, and her leather jacket. She tapped on Blake's door to let her know she was heading to her bike and made her way for the garage where Ghira had let her park. 

"It's a beautiful machine," Ghira was already standing by her motorcycle when she opened the garage door. "I had one similar to it when I was younger. Different color scheme though."

"Thank you," Yang said as she lifted up the seat of her bike to reveal the hidden chamber she keeps her helmets in. She pulled her full faced helmet out and set her extra, basic, one on the seat. "My dad made me a deal when I was sixteen. He said if I could earn half the Lien for one then he would help me pay for it. I did a lot of odd jobs but I finally got it."

He ran his hand over the yellow and black paint job. "She's well taken care of. What's her name? Everyone names their motorcycles."

Yang smirked as she mounted her bike. "Tell me yours and I'll tell you mine."

Ghira laughed. "My bike was named after my wife. Of course we were just dating at the time."

"It's refreshing to see how much you love Kali. Not everyone gets that happiness," she smiled sadly as she ran her hand over the flame emblem that decorated her gas tank. "Mine is Bumblebee," she finally answered him and started the engine.

Ghira's smile grew as the engine buzzed. "It suits it!" He called over the noise. 

As she backed the bike out of the garage she noticed Blake waiting on the side of the driveway. As usual she was dressed in black, deep purple, and white, a hint of gold accented the knee high boots she wore. Yang put on her helmet to hide her stare._ Does she have to always look that beautiful? It's distracting._ She held out the extra helmet for Blake and stood up to make mounting the bike easier for her.

Ghira placed a solid hand on the handlebars to get Yang's attention. "Watch out for each other alright? Be safe and take care of my daughter Yang."

Yang held up a fist. "Trust me Ghira her safety is my top priority."

Ghira smiled, obviously pleased with Yang's reply and connected his fist to hers before releasing her handlebars and calling after them to have fun.

Yang waited until the Belladonna home was no longer insight before leaning back so Blake could hear her. "You afraid if a little speed?"

Blake tightened her grip around Yang's waist. "I love a little speed!"

Yang revved the engine and zoomed down the road, passing a number of cars on the way, and didn't slow down until they made it into town. It was a short drive but the burst of speed was still fun, plus she couldn't deny that she loved the feeling of Blake's arms wrapped tightly around her. After a few turns and more stop lights than she could count, Yang pulled into a parking lot. 

"This is it?" Blake's voice was still bordering on yelling even though Yang had killed the engine. 

"Not quite," Yang chuckled and hid the helmets in the hidden compartment. "I though the walk there would be nice," she held out her arm.

Blake grinned as she linked her arm through Yang's. The contact was subtle enough for others to not assume anything but just enough for Yang's crave of Blake's touch to be sated. On the way Yang was Blake's personal tour guide, pointing out places of interest. The docks where she, Ruby, and Weiss met a strange red haired girl, the coffee shop they used to go for drinks, and the bar they went to once they were old enough. The sweet shop that was her sisters favorite place for cookies and chocolate covered strawberries marked the halfway point to their destination and it was here that something felt off to Yang. She acted normal, not wanting to alert Blake, but led them down an alleyway under the guise of it being a shortcut. The alley had two purposes. It took them out of the way of the public, making anyone who followed them immediately suspicious, and the echo allowed Yang to count how many sets of footsteps she could hear. Right now there were two sets to many and they were getting closer. Yang watched Blake's ears carefully, she knew they would be better tuned to the noise around them, and when they twitched behind her she whipped around in time to pin one of their pursuers to the wall and aimed one of her gauntlets at the other.

"You have five seconds to tell me why you're following us," she growled. "Go."


	9. A Back Alley Brawl

Blake enjoyed Yang's tour of downtown Vale. She had been around the city multiple times before but getting Yang's look on it was a refreshing take on something that was, honestly, becoming quite stale to her. And Yang seemed to know a little bit about everybody. The dock workers she saved from bandits, the coffee shop owner who always gives her an extra shot of espresso for free since she's been going there for years, and the bar she went to in academy before Crosshares that, apparently, involved an incredibly hilarious story involving her sister, a giant scythe, and way to much alcohol. A building that looked like it belonged in a children's tale turned out to be the place Yang's sister always went for treats.

"I always got her chocolate covered strawberries for her birthday," the smile that Yang gave at the memory made Blake's whole body warm. At least until she suddenly got incredibly quite and her smile fell. "Let's cut through here," Yang pointed down an alley. "It's a shortcut."

_Something's wrong._ Blake thought to herself. _But whatever it is she's going out of her way to make sure I don't know. _As they continued down the alley she heard what was bothering Yang. They weren't alone. Blake could feel her tensing up next to her as the footsteps got closer. Blake flicked her ears back to hear better and that was when Yang spun around with precision speed and pinned someone to the wall with one hand, making sure her gauntlet was ready to fire at their friend.

"You have five seconds to tell me why you're following us. Go."

"You may want to reconsider your position," the person Yang had up against the wall quipped from under his hood. 

Blake's ears twitched as more hooded figures flooded the alley. _It was a trap. They knew we'd come down this way. _She pressed her back to Yang's, eliminating her blind spots. She felt Yang's back jerk as she laughed.

"Nah I think I'll keep my current position thank you," she tilted her head back. "Can you fight without a weapon?"

Blake scanned their assailants and noticed several of them carried a weapon of some kind. "I can but I'm seeing plenty of weapons to pick from."

"I'll ask you one more time," as Yang spoke their circle of enemies closed in. "Why were you following us?"

"You'll be dead before you ever find out."

"Yang I don't think talking is really an option right now," Blake warned.

"I think you're right," Yang agreed before firing off a round and sending the first man into the brick wall. 

Blake threw her hands up in time to catch the wrist of one of their assailants and smirked as she saw the simple sword in his hand. "I'll take this thanks," she winked at him and with a simple twist there was a snap and the hooded figure doubled over in pain. She connected her knee to his face and quickly picked up his sword in time to block the next volley of attacks and countered quickly._ They're Faunus._ She realized as her next attacker used their claws as a weapon. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye as another assailant came for her. Knowing she couldn't block in time she instead created a clone to take the hit as she quickly darted behind her enemies.

"What's wrong?" She chuckled behind her confused opponents. "Seeing double?"

They whipped around to attack her but she created another clone and leaped from it's shoulders to place herself back to back with Yang again.

"That's one hell of a trick you've got," Yang sounded behind her as she punched two figures into the nearby dumpster, denting the metal. "Anything else up your sleeve?"

Blake took in their remaining enemies quickly. _They aren't very strong but there's a lot of them. If I had my weapon I could take them out quickly. _She glanced behind her as Yang fired off more shots._ Oh that could work. _"I've got one more trick. Just give me a second."

She darted forward and used her clones to block any incoming damage as she expertly corralled the remaining enemies into one area. "Yang!" She called and held out her hand.

"I got you!" She yelled as she flashed her signature smirk and charged towards Blake. 

Blake planted her feet to the ground and grabbed Yang's forearm, using the momentum to spin her in a full circle before releasing her, sending Yang flying into the hoard of enemies like a red eyed rocket. When the dust settled she saw Yang standing over one of the hooded figures with her foot on their chest. Their hood had fallen back and revealed reptilian scales on his face. 

"Get the hell out of here," Yang hissed, "and if you ever come after my girlfriend like that again you'll be lucky to leave here on a stretcher."

The man stood and he, along with the rest of his friends, scattered like bugs. With the fight over, Blake was suddenly aware of the adrenaline coursing through her. It had been so long since she was in a fight, a real fight, and she found that she missed the rush it gave her. 

"That was, whoo!" Blake jumped a few times to release some excess energy. "So who were those creeps?"

Yang shrugged. "Thugs I would assume," she gave Blake a quick once over. "You're not hurt are you? Your dad would kill me!"

Blake took Yang's hands. "Not a scratch. Though you were right. I am pretty rusty."

Yang sighed in relief as she pressed her forehead to Blake's. "It would probably be best for you to carry your weapon from now on."

Blake rubbed her nose against Yang's, eliciting a giggle from her. "If you say so but my _girlfriend_ made a pretty good weapon today."

Yang's face flushed and she scratched the back of her neck nervously. "You heard that huh? I mean that's what I would see you as but if your not okay with-"

Blake pulled Yang back to her in a kiss to stop her worrying. "I am more than okay with it."

"How did I know that if I followed the sounds of destruction I would find you, Xiao Long?"

They snapped to attention as someone else entered the alley. He was in a suit and had hair that looked like it was once her black but the grey streaks on the side gave away his age. Behind him stood two police officers and one seemed to have lost a bet of some kind as he slipped some Lien to his partner.

"One day we will get some damn privacy," Blake muttered.

Yang stifled a laugh as she grasped the man's hand in a warm welcome. "How've you been Chief?"

Blake's eyes widened in shocked understanding. "Wait! You're the Chief of Police? The one who recommended Yang as my bodyguard?"

He flashed her a handsome smile. "The very same," he extended a gloved hand to her. "James Ironwood but Yang here just calls me Chief."

"Better than what my uncle calls you!"

James sighed. "You uncle calls me many things and none of which I would like for you to use," he turned his attention back to Blake. "Has she been doing her job alright? I know she can be a bit reckless but really she's good at what she does."

Blake took his hand and was shocked to find that, despite it being gloved, it was cold. "Well she just fended off a bunch of thugs who followed us so I'd say she's doing pretty good."

He frowned. "That would certainly explain to commotion. Which way did they go?"

Blake shrugged. "Pick a direction. They sort of just scattered."

James nodded and motioned for the two officers following him to head down the alley. "We'll look around for them. Are you two alright? Do you need anything?"

Blake shook her head but it was Yang who answered. "I think we're good here Chief! We should probably continue on our way we were just heading to Coco's."

"Give Miss Adel my greetings then!" He called after them.

"My dad said you two had a mutual friend on the VPD but I didn't think it was him!" Blake exclaimed as they continued on their way to Coco's. "He used to run Atlas's military didn't he?"

Yang nodded. "Yeup, but as he got older he found he wanted a job that was a little less stressful and rigid. I've been doing odd jobs for him since he started this job."

"So you knew him back when he was in the military then?"

"He came to Beacon a lot. Provided security during festivals and even taught a few lessons in class. He was a bit high strung then you should have seen him all prim and proper with his white Atlas suit. He's chilled out a lot," they stopped in front of a large white building. "Here we are."

Blake looked up and saw "Coco's Combat Apparel" in bright neon lights. "She sells combat gear?"

Yang held the door open for her. "She sells a bit of everything but she does specialize in combat gear. We should get some while we're hear," she walked up to the counter where a timid looking girl stood. "I'm looking for Coco."

"Is Miss Adel expecting you?"

"It's more of a surprise visit."

"I'm sorry but you need an appointment if you wish to see Miss Adel."

"Nonsense!" A girl exclaimed a she emerged from the back room. She has short brown hair styled longer on one side and was dressed entirely in various shades of brown and tan. She wrapped Yang in a bear hug. "No appointment is needed for friends. So what do I owe the pleasure?"

Yang placed her hand on the small of Blake's back and nudged her forward a bit. "We are looking for some combat gear for my girl here."

Coco circled Blake a few times. "I like the colors you have going on here the deep purple is nice. I'm thinking a bit of white to brighten it up and some gold to accent and bring out your eyes. Yang?"

Yang threw her hands up. "That's all you. Fashion never was strong suit."

"Clearly, you've had the same leather jacket since academy."

She tugged on the bottom of her leather jacket and adjusted the zipper. "It was a gift."

"Follow me dear!" Coco ordered as she drug Blake away. "I think I have just the thing."

Three hours and five different outfits later and Blake was standing next to Yang at the checkout with a dark purple shirt that had a white design gracing the front which was outlined in gold, black pants made from some material she had never heard of but they were breathable and allowed her move unhindered, boots that matched the color of her shirt and was also accented in gold, and a black leather jacket that Blake insisted on because she wanted to match Yang's. 

"Alright what's the damage?" Yang asked as she pulled out her wallet.

Blake tugged on her sleeve. "Yang I've got this. You've seen my house I'm not exactly broke."

Yang shook her head. "Nope! This is my treat but if it makes you feel better I'll let you make it up to me later," she sealed with a wink.

Blake was to flushed to speak but Coco shut both of them down. "No one is buying anything here. This is on me."

"Coco come on!" Yang insisted. "I'm not walking out of this store with free merch you've put to much work into this place."

"Work that you helped with. Not to mention all the help you gave down at the bar. Neither of which you let me or Velvet compensate you for so for now this will have to do."

Blake heard Yang grumbled something under her breath as Coco carefully bagged the clothes and gave them a warm farewell before tending to her other customers. "Do you ever have to pay for anything?" Blake teased on their way back to the motorcycle. 

"You joke but it's a serious issue," Yang huffed. "You saw how I had to pay for dinner the other night it was like the complete opposite of a dine and dash!"

"They're just trying to thank you Yang," Blake said and leaned her head into her should as they walked. "You've done a lot for them."

The way back to Blake's was quiet except for the roar of the engine. Somethings bothering her. Blake thought as she buried her face in Yang's back. She grabbed her arm when they parked and Yang immediately tried to bolt. "Hey! Is everything alright? You've been quiet."

Yang gave her a smile but it wasn't as genuine as it usually was. "Yeah! I just keep thinking about those damn thugs. I don't know what I would do if you actually got hurt."

"Hey," Blake spoke softly. "I'm okay. You worry to much."

"It's my job to worry about you," she sighed. "As both your girlfriend and your bodyguard," she gave Blake's hand a squeeze. "Wait for me in your room yeah? I have to go check in with your father. Something tells me our mutual friend has already told him of our heroics today so I should probably clarify things with him."

Blake watched her go and couldn't help but feel like something else was really bothering her girlfriend.


	10. Who Says I Wanna Talk At All

Yang stood outside of Ghira's office for a moment as she tried to get her thoughts in order. She had to remain at least somewhat professional around him and, until Blake was okay with him knowing about them, she couldn't reveal anything that would lead him to suspect her feelings for his daughter. Content that she had her head on right she gently tapped on his door.

"Come in!"

She peeked her head in first to make sure he wasn't over flowing with work and found him glancing at papers over a pair of half moon glasses. "Evening Ghira I need to talk to you for a moment."

He gave her a heartfelt smile and gestured to the chair in front of his desk. "Yang! Come on in. You know James called to tell me that you and Blake did quite the favor for Vale. Tell me were there really a whole mob of thugs or was he just exaggerating?"

Yang took in a deep breath and reached into her pocket. "There was a whole mob of them alright," she said as she tossed something from her pocket onto his desk before she sat down, "but they weren't thugs."

Ghira's smile faded quickly as he picked up the item Yang tossed at him. It was part of a Grimm mask. When Blake threw her into the hoard of hooded mystery people she found that one of her hits had shattered the mask they kept hidden under their hood. Before the dust settled she had quickly picked up a peice and kicked the rest under the dumpster. It had been weighing heavy in her pocket since then. 

Ghira fumbled the piece of hard plastic around in his hands. "Alright. Start from the beginning."

She recounted their trip out. How she was telling Blake stories as they walked, how she felt like they were being followed, the shortcut through the alley just to be sure, the trap, the fight, and how she lied to Blake and told her they were thugs. Even telling Ghira left a bad taste in her mouth. She hated lying to Blake but she couldn't risk disappointing Ghira, not if she wanted to stay near her.

"It's good you didn't tell her," he assured. "She's seemed to be really happy the last few days."

"You know we're going to have to tell her eventually right? She does deserve the truth and I hate lying to her."

He sighed solemnly. "I know but, for now, let an old man enjoy his daughter's happiness a little longer if you would."

Yang nodded sharply and stood. "I should get back to Blake, I told her I wouldn't be long. I just wanted to fill you in."

"Of course but before you go Yang," he stopped her, "I have a meeting with Sienna Khan in a week. She will be coming here and I would like for you to be present during the meeting."

Yang shuffled nervously. "A human at a White Fang meeting doesn't sound like a good idea."

"It isn't a White Fang meeting. It's a meeting if old colleagues. I have some questions for her and her knowledge of tonight's incident will be among them. As Blake's bodyguard I feel you should be there."

Yang was shocked. Ghira was placing an awfully large amount of trust in someone he had just met and it made hiding her relationship with Blake all the more difficult. She nodded respectfully to him. "I'm honored Ghira. Thank you."

"No Yang thank you for protecting my daughter."

She chuckled nervously. "I honestly feared you'd be mad that I let her fight."

He grinned over the papers he had gone back to studying. "I didn't raise my daughter to back out of a fight once its started. You wouldn't have been able to keep her out of it even if you had wanted to. She remained safe and alive. And that's all I ask of you. Now go on!" He dismissed her. "I'm sure Blake is wondering what's taking so long."

Yang quickly made for Blake's room and tapped a short rhythm on her door. "Special delivery!" When Blake answered her bedroom door Yang was intrigued to find her sweating and out of breath. She peaked around the door and raised a suspicious eyebrow. "Is, uh, is there something going on in here I should know about?"

Blake mockingly rolled her eyes and ushered Yang in before closing the door. "No I was just brushing up a bit on my form."

It was then Yang noticed that she had something in her hands. In one she held a cleaver like blade and the other held a katana with an odd looking ribbon off the end of it. "Is that your weapon?"

Blake nodded and pressed a switch on her katana, folding it into a pistol with a blade hooking off the muzzle. Then, with another quick press it returned to it's katana form. "It's been a while since I've really used it."

"My sister would be going nuts right now. She's a bit of a weapons geek."

"She's a Huntress still right?" Yang nodded. "What weapon does she use?"

"A scythe about a foot taller than her that also doubles as a high impact sniper rifle."

"She must be pretty strong to be able to wield that."

"She is but you wouldn't think it by looking at her," Yang laughed and fell back onto Blake's bed. "She made it when she was going to Signal and back then she was shorter so she was comically small next to it. Our uncle taught her how to use it properly. It's crazy watching her use it and almost impossible to keep up with her."

"So she's fast."

"Speed is her semblance so yeah, you could say she's fast."

She heard Blake rustled around to put her weapon up and then felt her sit next to her and begin to run her fingers through Yang's hair. "You talk about your sister a lot. You must miss her."

"Yeah. I just heard from her recently. She's out on a job in Vacuo. First time I had heard her voice in eight months. Well sort of," she pulled out her scroll. "I have this video of us when we were younger, my dad sent it to me, and I used to watch it a lot while she was gone."

She fumbled through her files and pulled up the video she spoke of. She and Ruby had decided to attempt to bake chocolate chip cookies for their father before he woke up but they really just ended up making a huge mess of the kitchen. Her father had heard the commotion and came down with his scroll recording.

"I thought he was going to get mad at us for totally wrecking the kitchen," Yang chuckled. "I mean we got cookie dough on the ceiling. The _ceiling_! But he wasn't. Instead he taught us how to properly make them. It was Ruby's mom's old recipe. I figured making them would make her happy."

Blake paused in stroking Yang's hair. "Ruby's mom? Not your mom?"

Yang was silent for a moment. It wasn't exactly a secret that her and Ruby had different mom's but that wasn't the part that bothered her. It was the question that usually followed it. The 'what happened' question. _I've lied to her enough. I can tell her._ "Ruby and I have different mom's though Ruby's mom, Summer, was really the only mother I had known. She didn't give birth to me but she raised me, she _was_ my mom."

"How did she die?"

Yang looked up at Blake. Out of all the people who knew she was the only one who got that part right. Everyone else had assumed Summer just left their father for some reason or another. Death was never people's first guess. "We don't know actually," she shrugged. "She left for a job and never came home. My uncle was the one who had to tell my dad. Their relationship was already rocky but that seemed to put a big dent in what was left of their friendship."

"He blames your uncle?"

"I think he thinks he wants to blame him," Yang sat up and maneuvered herself so she was leaning against the headboard. She held her arms out, a silent offer for Blake to join her, and buried her face in her hair, right between her feline ears, as soon as she was comfortable. "Really I think he blames himself. He lost two loves. In his mind he's got to think he did something wrong."

"Did your mom die on a job as well?"

"I think part of her did," Yang murmured into Blake's hair. "She didn't exactly stick around after she had me. My dad never really talked about her until I was older but the way he talked about her when he did makes it seem like she wasn't that bad of a person," she let out a long sigh. "So when I got older I set out to find her on my own."

"And you didn't like what you found?"

"I don't know what I was expecting exactly. I had only seen her in pictures up until then and she looked happy on a team with my dad. But her old life called her back I guess so she left after having me, back to the life of a bandit. My mom is the leader of the Branwen tribe."

Blake twisted around to face Yang, shock in her wide eyes. "Your mother is Raven Branwen? The bandit queen, Raven Branwen?"

"Yeup," Yang leaned her head back, not caring that she smacked her head a little to hard on the headboard. "She isn't exactly mother of the year."

Blake settled comfortably back in Yang's lap. "But you miss her."

Yang pulled Blake closer to her like a security blanket. "Yeah I miss her. All I wanted was to ask her why she left and all I got were ambiguous answers and avoidance techniques," she kissed the top of Blake's head. "But I don't want to talk about my mom."

Blake tilted her head back so she could see Yang. "Well then what do you want to talk about?"

_I want to tell you about the White Fang. How Adam is looking for you. Warn you that you aren't as safe as you think you are. _Yang struggled with her inner thoughts. _But I can't._ "Who says I wanna talk at all?" She hid her internal struggle with a smirk. 

Blake's face flushed and her ears twitched nervously. "I'm okay with not talking," she whispered and hugged Yang's arms closer. 

Yang studied her for a moment as an entirely different struggle flared up in her. As her body guard she knew that it was risky to indulge in her growing desire for Blake, particularly with her parents right down the hall, but as her girlfriend Yang was finding it harder and harder to resist. There was a line she needed to balance on for now somewhere between protector and lover and even though Blake said she was fine with it Yang could still tell she was incredibly nervous. She smiled as Blake's ears kept twitching like a bee was buzzing abound them. _It's her ears. They give her away to easily. _

She tilted Blake's head back far enough for their lips to touch and she gently rubbed her thumb along her collarbone as she poured whatever feelings she could into one simple kiss. "Let's just stay like this for now," she breathed in between kisses. "I'll stay until you fall asleep again. Sound good?"

Blake hummed happily. "Sounds perfect."


	11. Training

"Come on Blake harder!"

"I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't, trust me. Now harder!"

Blake closed her eyes and thrust her fist at Yang for the hundredth time that morning. As usual Yang blocked it but when Blake opened her eyes she found that she had finally managed to make Yang stumble. 

"See that wasn't horrible," Yang smiled from over her guarded stance. "You can't keep closing your eyes when you hit someone though. It leaves you open."

Blake huffed and crossed her arms. "Well I don't want to hit you so closing them seems to be the only way to get the power behind my hits that I need."

She bent down and chugged a bit of water, pouring some on her hand and wiping the back of her neck with it when she was done. Ever since their tumble in the alley Yang had been waking her up at six every morning to train with her. Since their fighting styles were so different Yang would usually have her do different exercises than she did. She would do agility why Yang worked on her strength, or acrobatics while she did stamina, but they always ended the morning by sparring each other.

"You've improved a lot over the past week," Yang praised. "Now we just need to find someone else to train with us. A little two on two fight."

"We have plenty of guards," Blake suggested.

Yang shook her head. "No I don't want to risk putting your dad's guards out of commission. We need people who can take a beating and have more formal training. No offense to your dad's guards, but Saber is the best he has and he even admitted he wouldn't last against just me let alone the two of us," she tapped her finger against her lips as she thought, it was a quirk Blake had noticed she did often, and she found it incredibly cute. "If my sister was in town then her and Weiss would help I'm sure but I talked to her yesterday and she said they were just getting ready to leave Vacuo for Mistral. So that's out."

Blake took out her scroll and searched through her contacts finally settling on the only person she could convince to spar with them. "I think I have someone actually. They went to an academy but they aren't working as Huntsmen right now. Lemme give him a call."

She dialed a number and, as expected, it was answered shortly after ringing. "Yo Blake! What's going on I haven't heard from you in like a week! The boys and I were about to send out a search party."

"Sorry Sun I've been a bit," she glanced at Yang who was watching her with interest, "side tracked. Could you do me a favor?"

"You should know better than to have to ask."

"Mind grabbing one of the boys and coming over? I'm looking for a couple sparring partners."

"Getting back in the game huh!" He sounded excited. "But, uh, will your dad be alright with it? I know he doesn't like me much."

"He's in his office getting ready for a meeting. Plus we will be outside and I'm sure he won't mind you coming over when he find out it's so I can kick your ass."

"Oh you're so on!" She knew he couldn't say no to challenge like that. "Neptune and I will be there in just a few minutes."

"You and Neptune are gonna what?" She could hear his friend shouting from the background. "What did you just sign me up for?"

"Just get your stuff we're going to Blake's!" Sun called back. "See ya in a bit!"

"Later Sun," Blake chuckled and hung up. "Looks like I've found us a few guinea pigs."

"Those poor guys," Yang smirked. "Well might as well grab your weapon and head outside. I'll wait for you there."

As she passed, Blake felt Yang purposely brush her hand against hers and Blake found herself staring as Yang jogged back up the stairs and she followed a few minutes later with a sigh. Hiding their relationship was killing Blake inside. She wanted to be able to touch her in public, to kiss her in the morning while they had breakfast, and more than anything she wanted Yang to stay with her at night. As she wondered into her room she found herself staring at her bed, which was still unmade from her restless sleep the night before. Every night for the past week Yang stayed with Blake until she fell asleep but as soon as she left she spent the rest of the night tossing and turning. She wished that, just once, Yang would stay the whole night with her even if she just held her and spent all night talking about their memories.

_"Who says I want to talk at all?"_

Blake shook her head as Yang's statement earlier in the week flooded her mind. "Why'd she have to go and say that?" She grumbled and grabbed her weapon from it's rack before heading outside. The innuendo had caught her off guard but what caught her even more off guard was the way it made her feel. She got this strange feeling in her gut and her chest felt tight as her heart raced. She was nervous, sure, but more than that she found that she didn't want to "just talk" anymore either. 

She found Yang sitting on the edge of the outdoor ring fence, polishing her gauntlets, a small smile turning up her lips. "Planning on blinding them?" Blake joked as she sat next to her. 

"I wasn't planning on it per say but if I do manage to blind them at least it would keep them from staring at you like they are now."

Blake spun around and found Sun and Neptune entering the arena. Sun's gaze was fixated on her though it flicked to Yang a few times however, Neptune was all but drooling over Yang. "Who's this tall drink water?" Neptune said smoothly and slid up next to Yang. "Hey. Name's Neptune. Anyone ever tell you how your hair looks like fire in the sunlight?"

"Buddy you have no idea," Yang rolled her eyes and jumped off the fence. Completely ignoring Neptune she put herself between Blake and Sun and held her hand out. "I'm Yang. And you are?"

Blake watched the exchange nervously. There was a very taut line of tension between the two as they shook hands and Sun gave his name and turned back to Blake. "You didn't mention another person would be sparring with us."

"There a problem with that?" Yang straighten her shoulders.

"None at all."

Neptune leaned in closer to Blake. "It seems the battle for Blake has begun."

She smiled but never took her eyes off of Yang's commanding and protective posture. "The battle has already been won," she stepped in between the two fuming blondes and pushed Sun back with two fingers while gently placing a hand on Yang's shoulder to calm her. "This is a two on two fight Sun. You didn't think I would fight you and Neptune alone did you? Now come on! Let's get this started!"

They split and went to opposite sides of the arena where they stared each other down for a moment while Yang mentioned the rules. "Tournament rules. If you're knocked out of the ring, you're out. If your aura depletes, you're out. Any questions?"

"Nah I think we're good!" Sun called with a cocky tone. 

Yang glanced at Blake. "Think that move we pulled last time will work on these two?"

"It might," Blake shrugged. "But let's wait until they're a little run down first. It's no fun if we win that quickly."

There was a click as Yang loaded a few rounds into her gauntlets. "I love it when you're feisty."

There was sudden motion from the other end of the arena as Sun sent two light clones after them. Yang jumped out of the way while Blake allowed his clones to clash with one of hers. Yang dashed after him and there was a flurry of gunfire as he pulled his gun chucks from his back pocket and met each of Yang's blast with his own. With them occupied that left Neptune for Blake. 

"So who's the new girl?" Neptune asked as their weapons clashed. "I mean besides your girlfriend I mean."

"Are we that obvious?" Blake smirked at him.

He shrugged. "Maybe not to normal people but I have a sixth sense for these kinds of things. So? Who is she?"

"Why don't you find out?" Blake suggested and quickly removed her katana from it's cleaver like sheath and slashed at him. 

He jumped back to dodge, quickly transforming his weapon to it's gun form and fired off a few electrified rounds at her. Two rounds hit her shadow clone but the last one grazed her arm, leaving a singe mark in her new jacket. She smacked at the smoke coming off it and smiled at him, making a gesture behind him. Neptune turned around and found himself on the other end of Yang's fist. With a single shot she rocketed him towards the edge of the arena but before he flung through the fence one of Sun's clones caught him, cushioning his fall before desintegrating. 

"Your friends sure aren't pushovers," Yang laughed from next to her and Blake saw her wipe blood from a busted lip.

"Gods! Are you alright?"

"What this?" Yang poked at her lip. "It's nothing I just didn't toss up my aura in time. I got a few good hits in on him too. That Sun guy is faster than I thought he would be. Any tips on how to knock him out."

"Just one," Blake whispered. "He can't really move when he uses his clones. He has to concentrate on controlling them. So it leaves him open."

"I bet he'll use his clones if we tag team his buddy there."

"You're probably right but go a little easy on Neptune I'm pretty sure Sun drug him along without his permission."

With that they ran towards Neptune together and Blake felt a tinge of remorse at the shock and hint of fear that etched his face. Knowing he had no choice he quickly tapped a button on his staff and turned the blade into a trident, electricity flickering through it. He would block shots from Yang only to be bombarded by Blake who would leave a clone in her wake when he countered her. 

"Yo! I thought this was a two on two fight!" Sun called from across the arena and, as predicted, sent two clones to help his friend.

"Yang now!" 

Blake switched her katana to it's pistol form and shot it towards Yang as she sprinted by. It was expertly caught and Yang fired off a few rounds at the ground to add to the momentum as Blake spun her in a perfect circle before lining up the correct trajectory that would hit both Sun and Neptune. She tugged on the ribbon attached to her pistol and sent Yang flying forward and they all clashed with a loud blast.

"Yang?" Blake coughed as she fanned the dust from her face. 

She found that all three of them had been blasted through the fence, leaving her the only one still standing in the arena. Yang stood and dusted off her jeans before she began to laugh. "That had a little more umph in it than I thought it would but it worked! Blake's still in the arena meaning we won," she held her hand out to Sun. "But it was a good fight."

He grumbled but accepted her hand and turned to help Neptune off the ground. "You're no pushover yourself," he mused. "What academy did you go to?"

"What makes you think I went to one?"

"You either went to an academy or had one hell of a personal trainer."

"I went to Beacon," Yang said proudly.

Sun nodded, impressed. "So what's a Huntress doing here Blake?"

"I'm not a Huntress anymore," Yang shrugged.

"Didn't know your name was Blake," Sun raised an eyebrow at her.

"Calm down both of you," Blake groaned and stood between them again. "Yang works for my father. She's a mercenary."

Sun crossed his arms and his tail twitched behind him. "Since when does your dad hire bandits?"

"She isn't-" Blake tried to warn him but before she got the words out the ground next to Sun's feet began to smoke as Yang fired off a warning shot. 

"I am not a bandit," Yang seethed. "Don't ever compare me to one again."

"You've got the temper of one."

"Coming from a man with bananas for brains."

"How about a one on one fight?"

"I already kicked your ass once what makes you think I can't do it again?"

"That's enough!" Blake shouted and gave Neptune a pleading look. He grabbed Sun by the back of the collar and she faced Yang, forcing her girlfriend to look at her, before the two decided to hash it out. "Yang calm down. Fighting him won't solve anything he's always been a little dense."

"I heard that!"

She whipped around and poked her finger at his chest. "You were meant to! Quit playing the protective big brother Sun I can take care of myself. My father hired Yang to be my bodyguard."

Sun relaxed a bit but his tail still twitched angrily. "She's your body guard?"

Blake crossed her arms. "That's not all she is but yes that's why she's here."

"Then what else is she?"

Neptune smacked him upside the back of his head. "Dude come on! You can't be that dense can you?

Sun's eyes flicked from Blake to Yang and back again a few times. Taking in how close they stood, the protective stance Yang had behind Blake, and the way they looked at each other. His eyes widened as he began to grasp what was going on. "Oh my gods Blake you're banging your bodyguard?"

Blake's face flared and she stumbled back a few steps into Yang who was laughing hysterically. "W-we haven't...I mean...it's just....Yang help me out here!"

"Blake? Is everything alright out here?" All four of then turned to find Ghira on the balcony. His curiosity turned to a scowl when he saw Sun. "Mister Wu Kong. I was unaware you would be visiting today."

The color drained from Sun's face and he chuckled nervously. "Just came to spar with Blake for a bit. Her and her body guard totally kicked my butt. You taught her well," he began dragging Neptune away. "We were just leaving though. Say hi to Mrs. B for me!" He shot Blake a look that said he wanted more on what was going on before sprinting down their driveway.

"Yang!" Her father called and Yang immediately stood at attention. "You should head over to my office the meeting will be starting in a few. She's almost here."

"Be there in a minute!" She called back and focused her attention on Blake. "I don't know how long this meeting is gonna be but how about we go out for dinner tonight? Maybe stop by Crosshares for a few drinks?"

Blake waited for her father to leave before she stood on her toes and planted a soft kiss on Yang's cheek. "Sounds like a plan," her smile quickly faded to a concerned frown. Yang had told her about her father's meeting with Sienna and how he wanted her to join in on it. She was glad her father trusted Yang enough be a part of the meeting but she was worried since Yang wasn't a Faunus. "Just be careful. Sienna isn't exactly known for liking humans."

Yang winked at her. "Relax. She'll love me!"

Blake watched her go and sighed, hoping that Yang's confidence would be enough to impress the leader of the White Fang.


	12. A Light Way to Put It

_I sure as hell don't look like a professional bodyguard. _Yang thought to herself as she caught a glimpse of her reflection in a window. In an attempt to come off more presentable she zipped up her leather jacket, hiding the bright yellow top underneath, and tried to tame her mane of hair by pulling it back into a ponytail. Convinced she wasn't going to get any better, she shouldered her way into Ghira's office.

"Good you're here!" Ghira grinned from his desk. He was tapping his pen against the wood nervously until Saber touched him on the shoulder, a silent reminder to stop fidgeting. 

"Wouldn't miss it," Yang halfheartedly joked. In reality she was just as nervous as the gentle giant seemed.

She stood at the other end of his desk, completely parallel to Saber and copied his stance. Shoulders back, straight stare, feet shoulder width apart, and hands rested in front. It was silent, eerily so, until there was a knock on the door.

Ghira took deep breath and all signs of nervousness left with his exhale. "Enter." He was loud and concise. 

The door swung open and a woman donned in a red robe entered. She had short, black hair, mocha skin that was covered in stripped tattoos, and the tiger ears on top of her head stood straight up. She held herself almost regally. After dismissing the two guards she had with her she sat in the chair across from Ghira and leaned back, crossing one leg over the other in a way that wasn't incredibly lady like but it did reveal that she had black pants under the robe.

_Blake didn't tell me she was hot! _Yang panicked in her mind but kept her face emotionless. 

"Welcome Sienna," Ghira offered her a small, albeit fake, smile.

"Ghira," Sienna's voice was smooth. "Bold of you to let a human in on this meeting." 

Yang chewed on the inside of her cheek to keep from speaking. _She hasn't even looked at me how can she tell I'm human?_

Ghira gestured in Yang's direction. "This is Yang Xiao Long. She's Blake's personal bodyguard."

Sienna's face fell in genuine concern. "I heard about the attempts on your life Ghira. Please know that I had nothing to do with that."

He held up his hand. "I never thought you did. As much as we butt heads our end goal in the same. But I didn't ask you here to talk about me Sienna."

"Then why did you ask me here? Surely it wasn't for tea," she made a mocking gesture at the tea kettle next to him.

"In addition to the attacks on innocent humans I've heard about my daughter was attacked earlier this week. Thankfully Yang was with her and they were able to fend them off together."

Sienna sighed. "I didn't order those attacks Ghira."

"But you know who did."

She rubbed her temples and nodded. "I'll take that tea if you don't mind," Ghira poured her and himself a glass. He offered one to Saber and Yang but both refused. As thirsty as she actually was, Yang didn't want to deviate her attention from the matter at hand. "It's Adam," Sienna sighed after taking a sip. "I sent him on a recon mission months ago but he's gone dark. And he's taken a few of my followers with him."

"Have you tried to bring him in?" Ghira didn't seemed shocked and neither was Yang. They both knew he was likely behind it.

"I'm not a fool," she hissed. "I've sent multiple agents after him but he's either gone by the time they get to his last known location or they come back to me in caskets."

"He's always been like this. Surely you've noticed."

Sienna finished her tea and gently set the cup down on Ghira's desk. "I may not be a fool but he sure as hell played me for one. He always had a reason for every accident he had. Self defense, they double crossed him, or the informants boss found out and killed them. There was never any witnesses so I could never question what happened and thus couldn't question his loyalty. It's likely that he is behind the attempts on you and your family's life. He's never agreed with your ways Ghira and you know him and Blake ended on bad terms."

"Bad terms is putting it lightly," Yang muttered.

Sienna's ears flicked in her direction and for the first time since she walked into the office she looked at Yang. "If you wish to speak, human, do so clearly."

"Sienna," Ghira warned but Yang took a single step forward which was enough to silence him and he raised an impressed eyebrow.

Yang locked eyes with the White Fang leader. "He kidnapped her. Drug her to the middle of nowhere and did gods knows what to her. She was unconscious for days and whatever he did to her was traumatic enough that she doesn't even remember what happened to her. So saying they ended on bad terms is a very light way to put what happened. Was that clear enough for you High Leader Khan?"

The two continued in their staring contest before the slightest of smiles played on Sienna's lips. "The body guard correct?" Yang nodded. "Not that my advice matters to you much but keep a close eye on Blake. If Adam's end goal in indeed to get back at her then you have one hell of a job before you."

"You believe this is all because my daughter broke up with him?" Ghira growled.

"Adam was never the best at accepting rejection. He wants power, he always has, and it was his drive for power that made him so useful to me. He needed to be in control of everything in his life and if he lost even a sliver of that control he throws one hell of a temper tantrum."

"He wanted to control Blake and when she left him he lost that control over her," Ghira leaned back in his chair and ran his fingers through his hair. "He wants to get back at her."

Sienna nodded. "And the best way to do that is to go after her family," She stood and straightened her robe. "It was a pleasure to see you again Ghira. I can assure you I plan to continue searching for Adam, he has much to answer for, but, for now, I have other duties to attend to," she glanced at the clock above Ghira's head. "And I believe you have a speech to get ready for," she nodded her head respectfully to him before turning to Yang and glanced her over quickly. "I wish you luck Yang. As far as humans go...you're not half bad."

As soon as she left their was a collective sigh from all three of them and Yang stretched her shoulders, shocked at how tense they were. Saber stepped in front of Ghira's desk and clicked his heels into attention. 

"I will go make sure everything is secure to leave," he said, "Shall I make sure your wife is ready as well?"

Ghira nodded. "Thank you Saber. I will join you shortly I need to speak with Yang first for a bit."

"He didn't talk much during that," Yang noted after Saber left. 

"I tell everyone I keep him in here as an extra pair of ears but really he's good at keeping me grounded and making sure I stay calm. It wouldn't do my reputation good if I lost my head during my meetings."

Yang chuckled and sat at the chair Sienna was in just moments ago. "I didn't know you got angry. You always seem so calm."

"It's rare but I do get mad," he reached into his desk and pulled out an envelope. "You've been guarding my daughter for a week now. I think it's about time you got paid."

Yang took the envelope and opened it to find a check with more Lien on it than she thought. "I thought I was getting paid four thousand Lien a week?"

Ghira nodded. "That is your base pay, yes, but I also promised a bonus if something happened and you did save my daughter from an attack in an alley last week."

"Well yeah but Ghira this is seven thousand Lien! Three thousand more than promised."_ I never even made this much as a Huntress!_

He laughed. "I can do math Yang. You've earned that bonus trust me," he straightened his posture, suddenly serious. "I must ask a favor of you though."

Yang pried her eyes away from the check. "Of course! What do you need?"

"In case you didn't gather from Sienna and Saber I am leaving to deliver a speech for Faunus rights at a rally in Atlas."

"Atlas!" Yang's voice squeaked and she coughed to try and hide her surprise. "That's quite the trip."

"Yes which is why I am taking Kali with me. Call me a hopeless romantic but I don't like to be far from my wife for long."

"Nothing wrong with being a good and loving husband Ghira," Yang assured him. "So you want Blake and I to hold down the fort while you're gone then?"

"Not exactly. Atlas has the highest rate of Faunus hate related crime so I will be taking most of the guards with us, especially since my wife will be with me. The guards I do leave will be able to watch over the house but I don't want to leave Blake here without us, not with Adam targeting her. He knows this house and with it being such a large building there will be plenty of places for him to sneak in with the skeleton crew of guards I'm leaving."

"So you want me to take her to a safe house?"

"Sort of. You mentioned that you have an apartment. Provided you and your landlady are okay with it I would like her to stay there with you while Kali and I are gone."

Yang stared at him blankly for a moment as her brain tried to process what he was asking._ Blake. In my apartment. With me. Alone! _After attempting, and failing, to rid her mind of the array of thoughts that danced through it she nodded a little too eagerly. "My landlady said that the last guests staying in my place left two days ago and she didn't have any other reservations so far. I'll give her a call when I leave to make sure it really is clear or to give her time to kick them out. Blake and I planned on getting a few drinks tonight and I live close to the bar so we can just head there."

He nodded and looked relieved, like he thought Yang might actually refuse to allow his daughter to stay at her place. "Good. Thank you Yang. You should probably tell Blake what's going on. She's used to me leaving suddenly for rallies but she's also used to staying home so I'm sure she will be excited to be going somewhere else," Yang nodded and they both stood to leave. As they exited his office he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "And while you are there talk to your landlady about terminating your contract with her."

"You want me to terminate my renters contract?"

He nodded. "I did say that if things went well then you would have a more permanent place here didn't I? I think things have gone pretty well. Plus, my daughter seems to have grown quite attached to you."

"If only you knew how attached I've grown to her," Yang whispered as they went their separate ways.


	13. Guess Where We Are?

**A/N: Hey guys! Just stopping in to thank you guys for supporting Guardian! Your kudos and comments mean the world to me! I'm thinking a of doing a bit of Q&A here soon too so drop any questions you have about me or Guardian and I'll be sure to answer them in the next chapter or two! Alright now enough of my rambling and let's get to what you really came here for!**

"What the hell am I supposed to pack?" Blake panicked as she rummaged through her dresser. "How long am I staying there? Can this all fit on your bike? Are you listening to me Yang?" 

She threw a handful of clothes at Yang's face. Her girlfriend was sprawled out on her bed and was looking all too amused at Blake's frantic scramble about her room. Yang unburied herself and sat up, playfully tossing the clothes back at Blake. 

"I would assume your parents are taking a ship to Atlas. It's almost a day drive to the northern docks from here and at least a two day boat ride to Atlas from there," Yang was counting the days on her hands. "Assuming this is a one day rally and taking into account the time it will take for them to get back then they will be gone for at least a week. As for packing just take the essentials and a few changes of clothes I have a washer at my place and of you need more clothes then we can always go see Coco for more or you can wear something of mine and as long as you only pack one bag then I can place it on the side of the bike like a saddlebag," she winked at Blake. "And yes, I am listening to you." 

Blake huffed and rearranged the items in her bag a few more times before she was satisfied with its contents. "So what was the meeting with Sienna about?" 

"Your dad wanted to see what she knew about the attacks on innocent humans and the attempts on his life," Yang shrugged. 

"And? Did she know anything?" 

She shook her head. "All we know is that she didn't order the attacks." 

"She wouldn't have," Blake sighed and shouldered her bag. "She may have been one of the first to suggest a more violent approach but she doesn't believe in unnecessary violence. Plus, her and my father may have different ways of going about things but they both want equality between our people and humans." 

They headed for the bike and found her parents waiting in the garage for them. "You weren't planning on leaving without giving us a hug were you?" Kali teased. 

"Of course not!" Blake smiled and wrapped her arms around her mother. As always her chest got tight at the thought of them leaving. She knew this was a peaceful rally but the threat of them never coming back was still very real, especially with the giant target on her fathers back. Giant arms wrapped around them both as Ghira joined in on the hug. "Be safe," she whispered to them. 

"We will be fine Blake," Ghira assured. "Stay close to Yang while we're gone. We should be back in about a week. Promise." 

Before they left Kali made sure to pull Yang into a tight hug, startling the blond, and her father shared a warm farewell handshake with her. Blake and Yang watched them drive off, making sure to wave, before Yang finished strapping their bags to the side of her bike and fired the engine. Blake kept quiet on the drive and she could feel Yang's heart beat faster under her hand the closer they got to her apartment. _I am staying at my girlfriends house. It's going to be just us. _For the past week Blake had been wishing for them to have some privacy, real privacy. No interruptions from the guards or her parents or running the risk of Yang getting caught sneaking out of her bedroom at night. But now that they were getting exactly that she didn't know what to do with it but most of her ideas were enough to make her face flare up just thinking about it. _Don't get your hopes up for anything._ She reminded herself as she buried her face in Yang's back. 

The building they pulled up to was more than just a little run down and the lady that greeted them at the front sounded like it was painful for her to speak and had a perpetual look of annoyance. Yang and the woman exchanged acknowledging nods as she led Blake up a few flights of stairs and fumbled with her lock a few times before it finally unlocked and even then she still had to slam her shoulder into the door in order for it to open. As they entered Yang immediately tossed their bags on the couch and belly flopped onto her bed while Blake took in the apartment. It was a simple studio apartment but Blake found it homey. Yang didn't have much in terms of personal items but what she did have added to the personality of the place. The couch looked like it was, at one point, nice but the tears in the fabric said it had seen many years of wear. The coffee table looked sturdy but was vandalized with sketches of Grimm and random words. A shelf stood against one of her walls and it held a few scattered books along with some niknaks that had to have some sort of nostalgia attached to them. But it was the picture that hung to the right of her holoscreen that caught her attention. Yang was in it though she was definitely younger and her arm was slung around a girl with short black and red hair. 

"Is this your sister?" Blake asked and pointed to the picture. 

Instead of sitting up Yang scooted to the edge of her bed and hung off it, upside down. "Yeup. We were just getting ready to go to academy in that picture." 

Blake chuckled at Yang's silly posture. _I'm glad I can see this side of her. She's definitely more relaxed here._ "She's pretty," she mused before sitting next to Yang. "So you plan on hanging upside down all day or are we still going out for drinks?" 

In a single fluid motion Yang rolled off her bed and jumped to her feet. "Oh we're still going out," she flashed her usual smile. "You packed something nice right?" 

"I packed a dress," Blake said. "Is that too nice?" 

"That's perfect!" She pointed to one of the two doors in the apartment. "That's the bathroom. You can get ready in there if you'd like just don't use the top outlet if you plan on plugging in anything, it has a tendency to short." 

Blake grabbed the dress and a small makeup case from her bag and wandered into the bathroom. It was small and dimly lit, but it would do. She opened the makeup bag and stared at its contents, deciding what exactly to do, before finally choosing a smokey purple look for her eyes that was accented by black eyeliner. 

"I should keep the rest simple," she muttered to herself as she glanced over her lip options and choose a glossy light red. "Now what should I do with this?" She ran her fingers through her hair. She hadn't done anything to it that morning when she got out of the shower and it was still a mess from the bike ride to Yang's. "Up do it is." 

She brushed it out and tied it up into a messy bun, allowing a few strands to fall out and frame her face. Satisfied with her hair and make up and she changed into her dress. She really didn't consider it fancy. Like most things she owned it was black and simple, accented with a dark purple band around the waist, and came down to just about her knees. 

"I think this is as good as it's gonna get," she sighed and packed up her makeup before gathering the clothes she was wearing and exited the bathroom where she then immediately dropped them on the floor. 

"Oh good you're done!" Yang happily remarked as she turned her attention from the holoscreen to Blake. "Hot damn," she breathed as she glanced her over incredibly slowly. 

Blake open and closed her mouth like a fish out of water as she fumbled with her ability to speak. Beautiful wasn't enough to describe how Yang looked to her. She was so used to seeing her in her usual jeans and leather jacket or her workout attire that she didn't think she could see her in anything else. Now, Yang stood in front of her in tight black dress pants, a white buttoned up blouse that had the top few buttons undone, which showed off enough skin to still be modest but still made it hard not to at least glance, and an open black blazer. She had pinned her hair to the right side and it looked like she had put some kind of product in it in an attempt to tame it and her makeup was a slight smokey eye and a faint gloss on her lips. Blake didn't just find Yang beautiful, she found her sexy and she suddenly found herself wishing they had decided to stay in. 

"I didn't know you ever got out of that leather jacket," Blake attempted to joke but found that the crack in her voice likely gave her away. I can barely even speak with her like this! "It's a good look for you." 

Yang grabbed her leather jacket from the back of the couch and held it out to Blake nervously. "I know you packed yours but I thought that maybe you'd want to wear mine. It's a bit chilly out and I hear it's only going to get colder." 

Blake hesitantly took the jacket. "Are you sure? This was a gift from your sister Yang, I've never seen you without it." 

Yang rubbed the back of her neck and huffed a laughed. "Yeah I'm sure. I usually don't go anywhere without it but it really doesn't match what I'm wearing. Plus, I think it would look good on you tonight." 

She slipped the worn leather jacket on and hugged it to her. _It's still warm. _Yang's jacket was much older than hers and so the leather was softer and Blake found herself stroking the material. _It even smells like her. Like sunlight._

Yang was watching Blake and raised an eyebrow. "Are you done petting my jacket? Or should I give you two some privacy?" 

Blake scowled at her and grabbed her purse. "We taking the bike?" 

"No," Yang shook her head and held her apartment door open for her. "Crosshares is just a few blocks down and I don't know about you but I plan on having more than a drink or two so I'm not gonna risk it." 

Once outside Blake was incredibly thankful that she was in Yang's jacket and she locked her arm through Yang's, hugging her close for warmth. "How are you so hot?" She complained. 

"Good genes I would imagine," Yang laughed. 

She pinched Yang's arm. "That's not what I meant and you know it!" 

"Ouch! Alright, alright. I'm really not sure," she shrugged. "We think it has something to do with my semblance." 

"You mean how your hair pretty much catches on fire?" 

Yang nodded. "Did you know I'm named after my father?" Blake shook her head. "His name is Taiyang Xiao Long and it literally means 'supreme sun dragon' so when I was born he named me Yang and I took his last name instead of my mothers. My name means 'little sun dragon' and my father used to always say that I was born with dragon fire in my heart and it explained my fiery personality. He can be so cheesy sometimes but, who knows, maybe I do have fire in me and that's why I'm always warm." 

As they stopped at a crosswalk Blake stood on her toes and placed a soft kiss on Yang's cheek. "I swear I could just listen to you all night." 

Yang's face flushed under the street lights and she opened her mouth to speak but froze as her scroll buzzed. She sighed in annoyance and checked the message and Blake was barely able to react fast enough to catch the device as it slipped from her hands. "Yang what's wrong?" She glanced at the screen and saw that it was a message from her sister. 

"Guess where we are?" The message was followed by a picture of Velvet waving from behind the Crosshares bar counter. 

"I thought you said Ruby was going to Mistral?" Blake asked but Yang seemed to be frozen. She waved her hand in front of Yang's face. "Hey. Are you okay?" 

"Yeah," Yang whispered as a single tear fell down her face. 


	14. Been Awhile

Yang wiped the tears from her face and sniffed as she found a nearby bench to sit down at, followed by a very worried Blake. "Yeah I'm fine," she grinned at her. "It's just been so long since I've seen Ruby."

Blake comfortingly ran her fingers over Yang's knuckles. "They must have stopped by on their way through I mean even if they are traveling by airship most stop in Vale anyway to refuel. Are you nervous to see her again?"

Yang huffed, trying to relieve her tension. "Sort of. I mean the last time I saw her in person we got into a huge fight."

"Over what?"

"It's a long story."

"I love your long stories remember?"

Yang looked into Blake's golden eyes and found them staring back at her earnestly. _She really wants to know._ She wasn't used to people having a genuine interest in her past but after being with Blake for a little over a week, she knew her girlfriend meant it. "Remember how Saber said that he could never find a job I failed at?" Blake nodded. "Well there was one job that was a failure and the reason he couldn't find it was because the only survivors are me, Ruby, and Weiss."

"What happened?"

"We had taken a job to escort a small caravan of people to the docks so they could get to Atlas. The only thing we were allowed to know was that they had some sort of important and dangerous cargo with them. Weiss and I weren't so sure about the job but once my sister makes a decision it's hard to change her mind."

"Why were you so leary about the job?"

"Something wasn't right with the guy who gave it to us. We had taken jobs like that one before. Escort jobs where we couldn't know what or who we were escorting. But this guy screamed shady. The job was completely off the books, he approached us, but the pay was really good and he spun one hell of a story about how we would be changing the world. Ruby always had more faith in humanity than we deserve."

Blake rested her head on Yang's shoulder but continued to look at her. "So what was so bad about these guys? What did you find out?"

"We were traveling is a long train of vehicles. Ruby sat up front with the guy who gave us the job, Weiss took a middle car, and I rode my motorcycle in the back where the cargo holders were and while I was there I could see the holders moving and heard noises coming from them. When we pulled over to rest I told my sister about it and we argued over whether or not to confront them about the cargo. I believed we were hulling something illegal and we didn't deal in illegal moves but Ruby believed we weren't supposed to know the cargo for a reason and that it wasn't our job to ask questions. In the end we asked Weiss what to do and she suggested we investigate ourselves. If it turned out to be something bad we would confront them and if not then we would simply pretend not to know anything."

"I take it you confronted them?"

Yang shook her head. "We never got the chance to. Turns out these guys were smugglers who landed an interesting customer. The cargo turned out to be Grimm."

Blake snapped her head up from Yang's shoulder. "Grimm?! What the hell were they doing with them? How did they even capture them?"

"Not sure," Yang shrugged. "See the cargo holders were completely closed off and so the only way to see what was in them was to open the door. Problem was they were locked. Lucky for us Weiss happens to specialize in dust and managed to freeze the lock so we could break it without alerting the others but as soon as we opened that door..." She trailed off and stared at her hands.

"The Grimm broke out," Blake finished for her.

"A few Beowolves crashed out of the holder we opened and the chaos that followed only attracted even more of them."

"And you fought them all?"

Yang shrugged. "We were trained Huntresses. Fighting large groups of Grimm at once wasn't necessarily something we were new at. What we were new at was dealing with that many Grimm while also dodging bullets from an incredibly pissed off caravan of smugglers."

"They shot at you!"

"They probably hoped they could finished us off and round the Grimm back up. They all died by either the Grimm or the crossfire and we didn't exactly leave unscathed either. Weiss got gored by a Boarbatusk, she has a nasty scar on her side now. I got this from an Ursa," Yang shouldered off her blazer and lifted the back of her blouse to reveal the long scars that raked her back.

Blake gasped and gently touched the scars. "Gods Yang," her voice was a whisper and it shook like she was on the verge of tears. "This looks like it was bad."

Yang shivered but it wasn't from the cold. Blake's touch was soft and careful but the scars were sensitive and it made her hair stand on end. She slowly lowered her blouse. "It took awhile to heal," she said as she shrugged her blazer back on, "but this is nothing compared to what my sister had to deal with."

"What happened to her?"

"She fought the Beowolves, all four of them, at once and she was winning, until Weiss got hurt. We heard her scream and both broke from our fight to help her but one of the Beowolves smacked her away before she could even get five feet. She landed in front of the Ursa,"

Blake's eyes got wide. "You got hurt saving your sister."

"It was either me or her and it damn sure wasn't going to be her," Yang gritted her teeth. "It was dark, and I could barely see anything but suddenly it got as bright as day and by the time the flash of light had disappeared, the Grimm were gone. I didn't last much longer before I passed out."

"How did you get out of there?"

"There was a small town nearby that heard the commotion and sent some help. I woke up in the hospital a couple days later, my aura had healed me but I was still stiff. Weiss's injury was the least severe so she was already released by the time I woke up."

"And what about your sister?"

Yang leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "When the Beowolf smacked her away it's claws destroyed what was left of her aura and gouged the left side of her face, taking her left eye with it. She was still unconscious when I was released to see her. Weiss hadn't left her side and it looked like she hadn't slept either but when I told her to get some sort of shut eye she just mumbled 'nonsense' and continued to stay awake. Ruby was out for another couple days before finally waking up. I should have been happy, ecstatic even, that she was awake but all I could feel was anger," Yang sighed. "Huntsmen were put up on this pedestal and were always depicted a certain way. Always do good, never leave a job unfinished, save the world, blah, blah, blah. And Ruby always believed those tales, tales I used to tell her, but I sat there, staring at my injured baby sister, knowing that the world didn't work that way, and I decided that I no longer felt the same love for my job that I used to. So I decided to put my job as a Huntress on hold and take a similar job where my skills would still be useful but I wasn't held to that same standard. I could make my own rules and do things my way but when I told Ruby about it..."

"You two fought about it."

Yang nodded. "Everything was a mess then. We were all still recovering and all of us were tired as hell. She couldn't understand why I wanted to give it all up. 'Four years of training and you're just gonna toss it out the window,' she told me. And I was. I did in a way. I had become a Huntress for the adventure but I stayed on a team with my sister to protect her. But when I saw her with that bandage over her face and watched her just smile and say that things could have been worse when the doctor told her she had lost her eye, I knew that I had failed."

"You didn't fail Yang!" Blake shot up from the bench and knelt in front of her. "Injuries like that are a risk of being a Huntress. I'm sure Ruby knew that and I'm sure she didn't expect you to protect her her whole life."

"It was my job," Yang insisted. "Summer told me to watch out for her before she left and our father asked me to keep an eye on her in academy."

"You took an Ursa claw to the back for her."

"And she still lost a part of her," Yang muttered. "Looking back our fight was so stupid. She didn't want me to go but I couldn't force myself to stay. I told her I needed space, some time to think. I could always go back to being a Huntress, I'm still licenced, but that job took so much from me. Ruby's mom died a Huntress, our father was gone often on jobs which left me to care for Ruby, my mother was even a Huntress before she had me and went back to being a bandit, and then it took part of my sister. I just couldn't do it anymore."

"Everyone has a breaking point Yang," Blake's voice was soft and reassuring. "Even the strongest of us have a limit."

Yang flinched as Blake's hand gently wiped her face. _I was crying? _She couldn't even feel the tears falling down her face. For eight months she had kept that story to herself and in a matter of minutes Blake had gotten her to spill every last bit of bitterness out of herself. She sniffed and shook her head, clearing her emotions. "Man I sound like I'm talking to a therapist. I should pay you for these sessions."

Blake stood and offered her hand. "I'll let you buy me a drink how's that?"

Yang took her hand and stood before gently pulling Blake's hand to her lips. "I think I can do that."

"I do have a question though," Blake said as they continued on their way.

"Shoot."

"You said a flash of light saved you from the Grimm. Did you ever find out what it was?"

_"This power is yours Miss Rose. Only you can decide who you trust enough to tell but be careful. Some may look to exploit your gift for their own gain."_

The words of their headmaster immediately popped into her head. It was their second year at Beacon when Ruby discovered that her silver eyes were more than just pretty to look at, that they were a weapon against Grim. While Yang knew Blake certainly wouldn't exploit her sister, Ozpin was right that it was Ruby's choice who to let in on her gift. 

"That isn't my story to tell I'm afraid," Yang shrugged. "Though I do hope one day you're able to hear it."

"Fine," Blake sighed playfully, "keep your secrets."

Yang laughed but it was hallow. _She has no clue the secrets I'm keeping from her. _The knot in Yang's gut tightened as it usually did when she felt guilt._ I'm sorry Ghira,_ she thought as they approached Crosshares and she held the door open for Blake,_ but I don't know how much longer I can keep this up._

"Well look who finally decided to show up!" The voice that greeted them was bossy and a little pompous. And Yang found that she missed it terribly. 

Knowing her partner wouldn't be far behind she looked past the snow white hair of Wiess and into the single, shimmering, silver eye of her sister. "Been awhile hasn't it sis."


	15. Old Friends

"Been awhile?" Yang's voice trembled at the sight of her sister. They stood there, staring at each other in awkward silence. _She got a new eye patch._ Yang noticed that the one she wore not only covered her eye but the surrounding scar tissue as well and was decorated with her signature rose and petals. Finally, Yang opened her arms. "It's been too damn long little sister."

Ruby flung herself into Yang and hugged her tightly, crying silent tears. "I missed you."

Yang gently stroked her hair. "I missed you too."

Ruby sniffed and separated herself from Yang before flagging down Velvet. "Three shots of Firebrand Vel!" Looking past Yang, she finally noticed Blake and beamed at her. "Make that four! So sis is this the girl you're body guarding?"

Blake tugged Yang's sleeve. "Does she know about us?" She whispered. 

"She's knows I'm seeing someone but I haven't spilled the fact that it's you. Yet," Yang answered before turning back to Ruby. "Rubes this is Blake. My girlfriend."

Ruby's eye shot from Yang to Blake and back again in confusion before she turned to Weiss. "Isn't Blake the same person she's..."

Weiss sighed and crossed her arms. "It would seem she is dating her boss's daughter," she glanced at Yang. "That's risky, even for you."

Yang took a seat next to Ruby and Blake sat on the other side of her just as Velvet placed a shot in front of each of them and asked for their drink order. "I'll take a sunrise please," She said. "Margarita?" She asked Blake, who nodded. With their drinks ordered she focused her attention back to Weiss. "We both know it's risky and that's why her parents don't know yet."

"Ooh secret romance," Ruby teasingly nudged Yang in the side. "Like those fairy tale books you used to read to me when we were kids. That's so scandalous!"

"Oh hush," Yang playfully pushed her sister. 

"Awe you used to read to her," Blake joined the teasing, successfully making Yang's face flare. "That's so sweet!"

Ruby leaned forward over the bar, almost knocking her drink over. "Oh yeah! When we were kids I used to sit in her lap and she would read me stories of heroes and heroines and monster slayers. It was cute 'cause she used to do this thing if I got scared where she would lean forward and her hair would fall all around us and she would tell me the monsters couldn't get to us there because they would have to go through her first."

Yang buried her face in her arms and groaned. "She really doesn't need to know that sis!"

"I think it's cute," Blake laughed. "I like hearing these stories."

"Well then did she ever tell you about the time she set our dorm room on fire in academy?"

Yang shot her head up. "No and she doesn't need to hear it!" She grabbed her shot glass. "Are we going to drink these or what? They're getting warm."

They all raised their shots and toasted to reunions and meeting new people before downing the burning liquid with Yang being the only one not to cough after drinking it. 

"So what are you guys doing here?" Blake asked. "Yang said that you were heading into Mistral."

Ruby smirked. "That's exactly what I wanted her to think too. It's true that we plan on heading to Mistral next but we wanted to stop by and surprise Yang. It was actually Weiss's idea."

"Awe Weiss did you miss me?" Yang winked. 

Weiss glared at her over the glass of brandy she sipped on. "I may have felt a tinge of sadness about not seeing you for so long but I only suggested it because I knew Ruby missed you terribly."

"Weiss Schnee feeling emotions," Yang faked a look of shock before laughing. "You know that makes you human right."

"Oh ha ha," Weiss mocked.

"Wait," Blake's voice next to her was cautious and when Yang looked back she found her feline ears pinned down. "Schnee. As is Schnee Dust Company."

Yang and Ruby shared a look as a sudden realization sank in. "Well shit."

\--------------------♡--------------------

Blake stared at the white haired woman sitting next to her girlfriends sister. Yang always spoke of Weiss with endearment and yet she felt her whole body get warm at the mention of her last name._ I've been sharing drinks with a Schnee!_ She glared at Weiss from across the bar. "I suppose I should have known. The white hair should have been a dead give away."

Weiss seemed unperturbed by Blake's outburst and finished her sip of brandy before speaking, annoying Blake. "It _is_ a family trait. And I'm proud to say my looks are the only thing I take after my parents for."

"Your company treats my people like slaves!" Blake snapped. She felt Yang's hand on her shoulder but she shrugged it off. "They use us and place those of us desperate for work in less than acceptable working conditions."

Weiss sighed sadly and spun in her stool to face Blake. "I know. And I know my apologies won't be enough. My father," she spat the word, "is a heartless man. He always has been. But I am not my family's company. You wish for your people to be judged on their character before what they are. Would you be so kind as to wait on judging me for who I am and instead get to know me first?"

Blake blinked a few times in shock. She had never met a Schnee in person but everything she had ever heard about them was terrible. Her whole life she heard they were greedy, pompous, power hungry, racists. _She has a point though, _Blake grumbled in her head, _if I treat her deplorably then I'm not exactly setting a good example of the Golden Rule._

"Breathe Blake," Yang came up behind her cautiously and placed her hands on her hips. This time Blake didn't shrug her off and instead found the contact a welcome distraction. " She can be a bit," she paused to find the right word, "difficult sometimes but she isn't a bad person. She obviously has no problem with Faunus I mean look where we are."

Blake scanned the room and found Velvet watching them in concern. "You're right," she sighed. "I'm sorry Weiss. I suppose I should have put all the pieces together before I jumped your case."

Weiss shrugged. "Honestly I'm quite used to it by now," she grinned over her glass. "But I can't say I don't understand where you are coming from. I was a puppet of my father's for years before I separated myself from him."

"Yeah!" Ruby finally joined the conversation. She had looked to nervous to join in earlier. "Weiss and I don't just travel together. We live together! Her dad was gonna drag her back home after she graduated but I gave her a place to stay."

Blake took in the two women again. "So you two are...?"

Ruby nodded enthusiastically. "Ever since we graduated! Going on three years now."

"Honestly you don't have to sound so excited every time you tell someone," the blush that hinted on Weiss's face gave away her embarrassment despite her annoyed tone.

Blake couldn't help but smile. _She's so happy and proud of that. If someone as sweet as Ruby can vouch for her then she must not be that bad. _

Yang huffed in relief and sat back down. "That was close! I thought our girlfriends were gonna hash it out."

"A thousand Lien on Weiss," Ruby teased and stuck her tongue out. 

"Hey don't count my girl out yet," Yang flashed her usual smile and Blake found her face flushing at Yang calling her 'my girl. "She may not have the formal training we do but she isn't a pushover either. I've been training her myself."

"Private lessons huh?" Weiss raised a suspicious eyebrow at Yang.

Blake laughed as Yang threw a drink coaster at Weiss. "With her parents right upstairs? I don't think so."

Weiss and Ruby both seemed shocked at this. "Wait," Weiss gently set her drink down, "You mean you two haven't...?"

Yang shot her a glare that immediately silenced Weiss but it was Blake that spoke. "No not yet. We haven't exactly had the privacy to cross that bridge." She looked at Yang and winked, "until recently that is," Yang looked away in embarrassment and took a long sip of her drink. Blake grinned, glad that she was finally the one to make _her_ flustered for once. 

Yang attempted to open her mouth to speak but before any words could come out she was tackled out of her seat by a blur of white and pink.

"Yang!" Blake jumped out of her chair to try and help her girlfriend but was stopped by Ruby.

"It's okay," she chuckled, her single silver eye sparkling. "This happens every time."

Suddenly there was a gentle hand pulling Yang's attacker off of her. It was a man with kind, wise, eyes and a calm aura with a voice to match. "You can't tackle her every time you see her Nora. One of these days your going to hurt her," he saw Blake out of the corner of his eye and gave her an apologetic smile.

"See I told you Nora would be the one to find them!" Blake whipped around and spotted a tall, blond haired man with happy blue eyes and a goofy grin. 

Next to him stood a woman only a few inched shorter, with long, flaming, red hair and a worried expression. "Oh dear!" She bent down to help Yang up. "I'm so sorry Yang!" She fretted. "She saw you through the window and next thing we knew she was gone."

Blake looked at the strangers around her in confusion. _Who are these guys? Why does my girlfriend know so many people? _She stared a Yang, her eyes asking to explain who the new comers were.

Yang chuckled as she stood next to Blake and grabbed her hand, knowing it would keep her calm. "Blake these are my closest friends from academy. Nora Valkyrie," she pointed to the excited girl that tackled her moments ago, "her handler is Lie Ren but we just call him Ren and yes, he's almost always this calm," the black haired man gave her a respectful bow and Blake saw that he had a single strip of pink in his hair, "the goofy looking blond one is Jaune," he laughed mockingly at her teasing but smiled as he greeted her kindly, "and the red head with the perpetual apologetic stare is Pyrrha Nikos," she gave Blake a friendly wave and apologized again for Nora's erratic behavior.

Blake gave each of them a nod and returned their friendly smiles though her ears continued to twitch nervously. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Blake. Yang's girlfriend."


	16. Blaze

"So what the hell are you all doing here anyway?" Yang finally asked as the commotion settled down. They had moved from the bar and shoved two tables together. _It's like when we were in academy. _

"Ruby called us," Jaune answered through a mouthful of the bars cheese sticks. 

"She said she wanted to surprise you so here we are!" Nora's voice was perpetually loud, as always. "We were on our way back from a job up north anyway. Biiiiiiiiig Deathstalker. Huge!"

"It was getting close to our annual meeting anyway," Ren shrugged as he held the back of Nora's shirt to keep her from falling out of her chair when she leaned to far forward to get a better look at Blake.

"Your ears look so soft!"

"Nora!" Pyrrha gasped. "I am so sorry Blake! She doesn't mean any offense by it I promise she just doesn't have a filter."

Yang glanced at Blake, worried Nora's outburst would have upset her, but was glad when Blake smiled and leaned her head closer to Nora. "They are. You can feel them if you'd like. Just don't pull them."

"I'm shocked she let her touch them," Weiss whispered to Yang. "I didn't think Faunus liked having their traits touched."

"Well if some stranger just reached out and grabbed your hair wouldn't it freak you out?" Yang pointed out.

"She likes them," Velvet smiled as she popped up by them, refilling their drinks. "It's probably because Yang trusts them so much and, as her girlfriend, she wants them to like her."

"So do you touch her ears?" Ruby teased and elbowed her sister in the side. "I bet you do."

"S-sometimes," Yang stammered. "She likes it actually. It helps her sleep."

Ruby blinked a few times in slight shock. "I don't think I've ever seen you this flustered about someone sis."

"It's obvious," Weiss huffed. "She loves her."

Yang scoffed. "We've only been dating for a week Weiss calm down."

"There isn't a time limit on love Yang," Ruby smiled at her, her eye reflecting her own experience. "Plus there's all different kinds of love. So maybe you don't feel soul mate kind of love right now but that doesn't mean the feelings you have for Blake aren't love."

Yang looked at Blake and watched as the rest if her friends took turns touching her ears. "When did you get so wise huh?" Yang asked. "You went and grew up on me little sister."

Ruby beamed at her. "Nah I wouldn't say I grew up on you."

"She still sleeps with that stuffed dog you gave her after graduation," Weiss tattled.

"It looks like Zwei!" Ruby defended. 

"Who's Zwei?" Blake asked as she took her seat next to Yang.

"Our dog," Yang answered. "He lives with our dad in Patch. We've had him since we were kids."

Blake laughed nervously. "He sounds lovely."

Yang studied her girlfriend. Her ears twitched and she stared at the table. "You don't like dogs do you?"

"I'm not overly fond of them," Blake murmured.

"You would love their dog!" Nora butted in. "One time he chased away a whole pack of Beowolves. Just growled and barked at them until they ran away."

"Nora those where just a couple of black street dogs," Ren sighed.

"Shhhh!" She covered his mouth. "We don't want him to know that. He was so proud of himself!"

Jaune playfully smacked Ren's arm. "Yeah man. Let the little guy think he's a hero."

"He isn't even...never mind," Ren began to protest but decided it was pointless.

"So Blake. Do you fight?" Pyrrha asked, changing the subject.

"Not professionally like you do but I've had some training. My dad taught me when I was little and I had some more training in-" Blake stopped suddenly and Yang knew why. Mentioning her past ties with the White Fang would probably cause tension among them. Not to mention the issues it would cause with Weiss.

"In her basement," Yang cut in. "With me."

"Do have a preferred weapon?" Ruby asked giddily. "Oh I bet it's something cool!"

"It's a ballistic chain scythe I named Gambol Shroud," Blake nodded. 

"A what?" They all looked confused.

"It's a katana that turns into a pistol with a ribbon on the end. We have actually been practicing this move where she launches me forward at an enemy with it like a rocket. It's pretty awesome."

"Oh that sounds so freaking cool!" Ruby was practically bouncing in her seat. "Man I wish you went to Beacon! Maybe Yang could have had you as a partner instead of that jerk Blaze."

"Blaze?" Blake tugged on Yang's sleeve. "You never mentioned your teammate from academy before."

"With good reason," Yang grumbled and took a long sip of her drink. He was the last person she wanted to talk about.

"Dude was an asshole," Jaune explained. "He was almost always in Glynda's office for something and he messed up every single one of their training missions."

"Eventually it got so bad that Ozpin only had him on our team so we wouldn't get kicked out of competitions," Ruby continued. "So on paper we had a fourth teammate but really it was just us."

"How could someone like that even get into Beacon?"

"He was unfortunately very good at fighting," Weiss sighed. "His skill with his weapon was unparamount but his ability to follow directions and work as a team was in dire need of practice. I hear he joined up with some bandits after graduation."

Yang tapped her glass on the table, annoyed they were still on the subject of her old partner. "Enough about that jerk!" She ordered. "He's a damn mood killer."

"I hate to kill the mood even more," Velvet nervously said as she approached them, "but this is last call guys. We're closing down a little early tonight."

Yang smiled up at Velvet. "Oh that's right. It's you and Coco's anniversary isn't it?"

Velvet's face flushed and she nodded. "Yeah. She said she got us reservations at some fancy restaurant and that I needed to close up early so I could get ready. I'm sorry guys I know you were really looking forward to hanging out more."

"Oh it's no problem really," Pyrrha assured. "We have a hotel we need to check into anyway."

They all wondered outside of the bar so Velvet could close up and Yang took turns handing out hugs to her friends. "It was good to see you guys again. I missed you."

"We'll have to get together again soon," Jaune suggested. "Once a year isn't enough."

She waved as they disappeared down the road, leaving her with Blake, Ruby, and Weiss. She faced her sister and took in a deep breath. "I didn't get a chance to apologize before they showed up."

"Apologize for what?"

Yang reached her hand out and lightly touched Ruby's eye patch. "This is my fault. I didn't protect you like I should have and I'm sorry."

"Blake," Weiss whispered so she didn't interrupt them, "perhaps you and I should wait down by the light."

Yang saw them leave out of the corner of her eye before Ruby gained her attention again by grabbing her hand. "This isn't your fault sis," she said as a tear fell from her eye. "We knew the risks of being Huntresses and if I had listened to you when you told me not to take the job then this wouldn't have happened to begin with. All things considering it could have been-"

"Don't!" Yang snapped and she dug her nails into her palm. "Don't say it could have been worse. How can you be okay with this Ruby? You lost an eye, half of your eye sight, and you're permanently scarred," she lowered her voice even more. "Not to mention how it limited your silver eye abilities."

She sighed. "I never said I was okay with it. I just said that it could have been worse. I'm still alive. You and Weiss are still alive. Taking into consideration how bad that job could have gone, this isn't too bad."

"We both know that the only reason we made it out of there alive was because of you," Yang dropped her voice again, hoping that Blake's acute sense of hearing wasn't tuned to their conversation. "If you hadn't used your eyes we all would have died that night."

"But I did use them and we did survive," Ruby assured. "If we just continue to look on how bad things could have gone then we will miss how good they turned out."

Yang wiped the few tears that had slipped from her eyes and huffed a laugh. "You sound like the old man."

"There are worse people to sound like," Ruby copied Yang's laugh before launching herself forward and wrapping her arms around her sister. "I missed you so much Yang."

"I missed you too," Yang said as she tightened her grip around her. When she let her go Yang shook her head to clear her mind. "You two be careful on your way back alright?"

Ruby nodded as they made their way back to Weiss and Blake. "You too," she grabbed Weiss's hand and they both waved as they made their way across the street. "We'll be in town for a bit so don't be a stranger!"

"I'll keep in touch," Yang called back. "Keep each other safe!"

"Always!"

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As soon as they made it back to her apartment Yang tossed her blazer on the couch and fell face first into her bed where she made some sort of grumbling noise that caused a small chuckle out of Blake.

"I'm going to change I'll be right back," Blake called as she made her way to the bathroom, only getting a muffled noise in response.

After changing into a pair of shorts and a simple shirt that was twice her size, she sat on the bed next her and began to remove the pins Yang had in her hair that had done a remarkable job at keeping it pulled to the side all night. She found herself gently stroking her neck but stopped when she realized it was putting Yang to sleep. She never thought that the bare skin of her girlfriends neck could be so beautiful and distracting.

"Hey," Blake softly nudged Yang to get her to roll over and she lazily obeyed. "Are you alright? I know it was probably a little awkward for you to see them again after so long."

"Not as much as I thought it would be actually. Having the others there helped a bit. It wasn't until after we left that things got weird."

"How did your talk go with her?"

"She was her usual cheerful self," Yang pulled herself up so she was leaning against the headboard. "I thought she was okay with it, the fact that she lost her eye, but turns out she isn't really okay with it as much as she's just accepted that it happened. I guess I just never reached that point. She said that if I kept looking at how bad things could have gone then I would miss out on how good they actually turned out to be."

"Wise words for a young girl."

"She's definitely grown a lot, despite Weiss's teasing. Speaking of which. What were you two talking about."

Blake paused for a moment as she took her hair down. "We were discussing your partner in academy."

"Blaze?" Yang crossed her arms in front of her chest. "What about him?"

Blake's face fell and her ears pinned themselves to the side of her head, adding to her sad look. "Why didn't you tell me Yang?"

"What did Weiss tell you," her voice sounded accusatory.

"Second year he went to a party with Cardin and came back completely trashed," Blake paused as she tried to choose her next words carefully. "She said he busted in the door and threw himself at you."

Yang looked away from her and stared out her window. "It's not exactly something I enjoy talking about but yeah. Ruby and Weiss were in the library doing some late night studying but I had turned in early that night. It's like Weiss said he was trashed, which wasn't unusual for him, and just came at me," she paused to take a deep breath and when she continued her voice was shaking. "It took me a second to realize I wasn't in some fucked up nightmare but when I finally did come to I kicked him off of me hard enough to knock him into a wall and knock him out then I booked it. I ran into Jaune and Pyrrha in the hallway and they took me to Ozpin."

Blake's whole body started to shake. She was angry, so angry, that anyone would attempt to harm Yang. "Why wasn't he expelled?!"

"Because I didn't tell Ozpin," Yang muttered. "I told him he came in trashed and made a scene but I didn't tell him the rest."

"But why? Yang he hurt you!"

She shook her head. "He didn't actually do anything. I kicked him off long before he got that far. I don't know. I guess I just didn't want to make the whole incident bigger."

"What did Ozpin do?"

"Blaze was kicked out of our dorm and tossed into a room by himself and Ozpin kept him separated from us in class and training missions. It's like they said at Crosshares, he was our partner on paper to keep us from being disqualified from competitions but it was pretty much just us. I told Ruby, Weiss, and the others about it and as much as they wanted me to tell Ozpin about it they respected my wishes of keeping it quiet since nothing actually happened under the condition that if he tried it again I would tell the teachers and they would get to kick his ass. I believe Nora mentioned something about breaking limbs," she shrugged and rubbed her arms. "I don't know. It's hard for some people to understand I guess."

"I understand a little more than you think," Blake scooted over so she was sitting across from Yang. "Have you ever heard of a White Fang member named Adam Taurus?"


	17. Inferno

Blake sat across from Yang and starred into her lilac eyes. _She told me her story. Perhaps it's time I told her mine. _"Have you ever heard of a White Fang member named Adam Taurus."

Yang stared back at her in slight shock. "Yeah. I've heard his name on the news a lot. He's a pretty violent guy."

"He's my ex," Blake's voice was coated in disdain. "We were together for quite a while."

"Did he hurt you?" She looked up and found Yang's eyes had turned red and she was gripping one of her pillows so tightly that Blake thought it was going to pop like a feather filled balloon. 

"Mentally? Yes. Physically?" Blurred images flashed in her mind and she shuddered. "I don't really know. See when he first joined the Fang I mistook him for passionate. He cared so much for our cause, even saved my dad's life once. But he was also very good at manipulating the people around him and, like an idiot, I fell right into it. I was so young and infatuated with him and how much he seemed to care about the wrongs our people have faced that I overlooked all the red flags that where there. The humans that turned up dead, the sneaking out at night, the way he always made it out so someone else was the bad guy. After he killed one of our informants under the guise of believing he would rat us out I decided I no longer wanted to be a part of it. I had to get away so I did."

"But he never hit you?" Yang's eyes were still red but she had loosened her grip on the pillow.

"That's the thing. About two years ago I went with my dad to a Faunus rally and woke up in the hospital a few days later. I was sore and I heard the doctor tell my parents that my aura had healed most of my cuts and bruises but I can't remember any of it," she grabbed her throbbing head as more blurry images passed by. "I don't know why."

"Repressed memories can be painful to remember," Yang pulled Blake closer to her and brushed a few strands of hair from her face. "After Ruby's mom died my dad had this whole point of his life that was just blank for the longest time. He said he was on auto pilot as he tried to cope with what happened. Maybe that's why you don't remember. Just know that you're safe now, here, with me and if we ever run into him I'll run his sorry ass into the ground. He won't get to hurt you again, I promise."

Blake gazed into her girlfriend's eyes, which had finally changed to their usual purple, and felt her chest tighten. She grabbed Yang's hand and placed it over her surprisingly steady heart. "I never thought I would be able to feel this way about anyone. I thought Adam had robbed me of it. But gods Yang, I want you so bad it physically hurts."

Yang gently traced Blake's collarbone. "I thought I was the only one but I didn't want to rush you into things. The last thing I want to do is make you uncomfortable or scare you away."

Blake leaned forward, repositioning herself so she was on her hands and knees, and pressed her forehead to Yang's. "I'm not going anywhere."

Unable to control herself any more, Blake pressed her lips to Yang's in a series of heated kisses. As Yang slid down the headboard, Blake lowered herself so she was laying on top of her and quickly set her hands to the job of unbuttoning her blouse. About halfway down Yang gently grabbed her hands.

"Are you sure?" She could feel her searching her eyes for any sign of doubt. "I don't want you to feel like you have to."

"Honestly I don't think I've been this sure about anything before," Blake breathed against her lips. "Now please, for once, stop talking."

She silenced Yang with a kiss, gently slipping her tongue into her mouth which Yang answered by grabbing Blake's hips and intertwining their legs. After some time she was finally able to get Yang's shirt undone and tossed it across the room. She sat up, admiring Yang's tone form, and noticed several raised marks as she traced her fingers over her skin.

"Scars?" Blake asked, barely recognizing the husky tone of her voice. 

"Yeah, they're kind of a side effect of my line of work," Yang looked away from her and attempted to cover them. "I know they aren't pleasant to look at."

_So that's why she always stays covered. _She thought as she moved Yang's hands. "They're beautiful, just like the rest of you."

Yang reached up and helped Blake out of her own shirt and let out a quiet whistle. "Talk about beautiful."

She let out a whispered moan as Yang gently ran her hand over Blake's exposed body before she quickly snaked her arm around her and flipped them over, leaving Blake breathless as her head slammed into the pillows.

Bright headlights briefly illuminated the room and Blake saw that Yang's eyes were glassed with tears. Shocked, she reached up and wiped a few stray ones that slipped down her cheek. "Why are you crying? We can stop if you want."

"No no no!" Yang insisted and laughed as she pressed her cheek into Blake's palm. "It's just this feeling I've been having."

"You don't have to hide your feelings around me. I promise, you can tell me."

Yang took in a deep breath before her words escaped her lips in a nervous hurry. "I love you Blake. I'm _in _love with you."

She stared at Yang in shock and felt her heart skip a few beats. Love. Adam had told her he loved her once but it was only so he could have more hold over her. It was also an emotion she wasn't sure she would be able to feel. She loved her parents, sure, but to be in love with someone was something completely new to her. Yet she looked at the sincerity in Yang's eyes and she wasn't scared. She was happy.

"I love you too Yang," as the words escaped her lips she felt a weight lift off her chest, the weight of being afraid to love. 

"Yeah?" Yang's voice was full of hope and it cracked with emotion.

Blake leaned up and kissed her. "Yeah."

She smiled and moaned as their kiss deepened and Yang traced small, gentle kisses down her jaw, neck, and collarbone. Her whole body felt like it was on fire and for once Blake didn't put it out and instead she let Yang fan the flames into an inferno.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yang stretched and carefully crawled out of her bed, wrapping herself in a sheet. She didn't want to disturb Blake's sleeping form but she was thirsty. 

"That sheet is obstructing my view."

Yang grinned as she opened her fridge and downed a cold bottle of water before facing back towards her bed and tossed the sheet on the couch. She wiggled the empty bottle at her girlfriend before dropping it into her trashcan. "I guess your agility training comes in handy in more than just combat."

Blake propped herself up on her elbow. "I don't recall you complaining. In fact, if my memory is correct it was quite the opposite."

Yang sat down next to Blake. "Oh I won't complain about that but this on the other hand," Yang turned on her bedside table lamp and turned her back to Blake, revealing an array of scratch marks etching it, "it still stings a little bit."

She chuckled as Blake's face flared and she buried her face in a pillow. "I'm sorry!"

She lowered the pillow. "Hey it's alright! I don't mind it. In fact it's kinda hot."

Her remark only made Blake smack her with the pillow. "You're such a jerk!"

"You love that about me," she snickered and laid back, pulling Blake to her.

Blake snuggled into her chest and hummed contently as Yang gently massaged her feline ears. "I love a lot of things about you but yes, that is one of the stranger qualities I adore."

Before Yang could continue to tease her, there was a knock on her door. She got out of bed and quickly rummaged her drawers for something to wear. "Stay there."

"Did you order pizza or something?" Blake inquired. "I wouldn't complain if you did you helped me work up quite the appetite."

She shook her head as she grabbed her gauntlets from her shelf. "Hate to burst that bubble but I haven't exactly had time to order anything. Just do me a favor and don't move please."

She looked through the peephole on her door, hoping her neighbor had just locked themselves out of their apartment again, but instead found nothing which only increased her suspicion. She slowly creaked her door open and glanced down the hallway before finally glancing at the ground where she found the body of a woman. She was dressed in all black and when Yang flipped her over with her foot she discovered she was wearing a broken Grimm mask.

"The hell!" Yang exclaimed and primed her weapon, ready to take out the threat, before Blake grabbed her arm and lowered it.

"Wait don't!" She screamed as she hopped into a pair of Yang's shorts and bent down to get a better look at the unconscious woman on Yang's welcome mat. "I don't believe it."

"You know her?"

"She was my friend for years," she grabbed the woman's arms and looked up at Yang. "Help me get her inside."

Not wanting to draw attention to the scene in front of her entryway, Yang groaned as she helped Blake carry her to the couch. "So you gonna tell me who this chick is?"

"Ilia Amitola," Blake sighed and removed the remains of her shattered mask, revealing a bleeding head wound. "We grew up in the Fang together."

Yang paced her living room as Blake brought out a bowl of warm water and some bandages. "She's hurt pretty bad. That head wound is nasty and it looks like she's got a few other injuries on her torso."

Blake stripped Ilia out of her uniform and quickly got to work cleaning her wounds expertly. This was clearly not the first time she had patched someone up. "She had to have walked all the way here with these injuries."

"Blake," Yang whispered and knelt next to her, placing a hand over her shaking ones. "You understand why I'm more than a little sketchy of this right. I know you're worried about her but I've never met her before in my life. How would she know where I live?"

"She's incredibly resourceful. She's a chameleon Faunus you know."

Yang quickly gave Ilia a once over and didn't see any signs of ears, tails, or scales. "What's her trait?"

"She can change her color," Blake explained as she set the bloody water on the floor and began to wrap Ilia up in bandages. "Most of the time she can control it but her emotions influence the change too. And it's not just her skin, her hair and eyes change as well. She was our best infiltrator."

"An infiltrator? That doesn't exactly help her case Blake. She could be a spy."

Blake sighed and covered Ilia with the sheet Yang had left on the couch. "She _is_ a spy Yang but it's not what you think. She doesn't work for Sienna or Adam. She works for my father. He sent her to spy on the Fang about a year and half ago. And six months ago she went dark. We thought she was dead."


	18. Ilia

"She only stayed in the Fang for me," Blake brought her knees up to her chest and kept her eyes on her unconscious friend. "She said my father asked her to make sure I stayed safe after he stepped down. She stuck as close to me as she could with Adam controlling my every move. When I told her I wanted out she helped me, got me an audience with Sienna when Adam wasn't looking, and she came with me. She had no where to go, her parents died in the dust mines when she was little, so my father offered her a job on his security. A few months after I woke up in the hospital my dad sent her on a mission to go back into the White Fang and she kept him updated regularly, until six months ago."

Yang sat on the floor in front of her and gently rubbed her legs. She had remained quite while Blake explained things. "And you just assumed she had died?"

"My dad asked Sienna about her, saying I was worried because she wasn't in touch with me anymore, and Sienna admitted that Ilia was MIA. With nothing more to go on we had to assume the worst."

"Do you know anything about her mission? Why your dad sent her?"

Blake shook her head. "I tried asking but they both just said it was best that I didn't know," she sniffed as her eyes got misty. "We had a small service for her, just me, my family, and some of the guards she was close to. Sienna even showed up and gave her condolences. If she's been alive this whole time why did Sienna lie?"

"I don't think she was lying," Yang sighed as she stood. "What if Ilia really did go MIA?" 

"Then where has she been these past six months?" Right as she finished her question the answer became clear and the look on Yang's face only cemented it. "Adam. He did this," her voice shook with anger. "He knows she helped me leave the Fang."

Yang bent down and kissed the top of her head, right in between her ears, and stalked to her fridge to pull out three bottles of water. She handed one to Blake, kept one for herself, and set the third on her coffee table in front of Ilia. "For when she wakes up," she held her hand out. "Let's give her some room. We can't do anything else here and I doubt the hospitals would be willing to help someone in Fang gear, at least not without getting the cops involved and I would like to keep Chief as far from this as possible, he has enough to deal with. We'll check on her in the morning just come to bed."

Blake took a sip of her water and accepted Yang's hand. Once settled into bed she rested her head on Yang's chest and sighed comfortably before drifting to sleep.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The bed was empty when Blake finally woke up. She shot up and heard the sound of humming coming from the kitchen. Yang stood over her stove and was bouncing to her own beat as she stirred around what smelled like scrambled eggs in a frying pan. Seeing a domestic side of Yang made her smile and laugh quietly. To think that her girlfriend, who always wore a worn out leather jacket, rode a motorcycle, and used to punch Grimm right from the sky, danced around her kitchen while she made breakfast. It amused her.

The apartment was cold so Blake wrapped herself up in the blanket, that still held some of Yang's body heat in it, before she shuffled into the kitchen and leaned her head against Yang's back, placing a soft kiss between her shoulder blades. 

"Well good morning," she chuckled and turned the stove off. "I wondered when you were going to wake up. It's almost noon you know."

Blake glanced around her at the clock on the stove and frowned. She hadn't slept in this late in years. "It's your fault I slept so late. We don't all have your endurance."

Yang smirked as she gave a quick kiss. "I'll keep that in mind next time," she nodded her head in Ilia's direction. "She hasn't woken up yet but she's stirred a few times and she keeps mumbling."

"She always talked in her sleep," Blake said. "Usually it's just nonsense but every now and then I've heard her talk about her parents."

"I didn't want to ask last night with everything that was going on but," Yang paused as she pulled down some plates, "exactly how close were you two?"

"You want to know if there was something more than friendship between us," Blake was shocked to hear not jealousy in Yang's voice but curiosity. "Honestly there could have been," she grabbed a plate of eggs and sat down on the bed, motioning for Yang to follow. "I had known for a long time what Ilia's feelings for me were, she would have left the Fang ages ago if I didn't stay, but I couldn't afford to have feelings for anyone else because of Adam. He was incredibly jealous."

"He would have hurt her if he knew," it wasn't a question and as usual Yang's voice dropped with hate when she talked about him.

"As long as I had him convinced I didn't reciprocate her feelings then she was safe. As far as Adam knew she was just my best friend."

"But you did feel the same way?"

"Not at first," She shrugged as she finished her eggs and set the plate down on the bedside table, rewrapping herself in the blanket once she was situated again. "I was still to infatuated with Adam to even consider liking anyone else. Then one day it just sort of hit me."

"What happened?"

"Adam and I had gotten into a fight, one of many, and as usual I ran off to clear my head. Ilia found me in a tree."

"You climbed a tree?"

Blake could see the hint of a joke in the smirk her girlfriend wore and she shot her a warning glare. "Say anything and your eggs go in your face. Yes. I climbed a tree. It was peaceful and I didn't think anyone would look for there. But Ilia did. I'm not sure if she followed me the whole time or if she really just knew me that well but she just popped up next to me all smiles trying to cheer me up. She even snuck out some food from the provisions. We sat up there for hours and just talked. I told her I was worried about what Adam was turning into and she sort of put things in perspective for me."

"How so?" Yang mumbled through her final mouthful of eggs. 

"I was so blinded by his charm that I had never noticed that the person I thought he was turning into was the person he had been all along. Ilia had been in the Fang almost as long as me and pointed out that, while he has gotten worse over the years, he was always a violent person. That even though Sienna was the first to suggest a more violent approach to our tactics, Adam had already been attacking humans for years. It seemed I was the only one who refused to see it. I didn't want him to become a monster but instead of trying to change his course I simply looked the other way. Ilia told me about a mission she had with him and Sienna. They raided a dust company to supply our militia and Adam killed almost every human in there despite direct orders not to unless absolutely necessary."

"Almost? What stopped him?"

"Sienna, apparently. She had put his deadly tendencies to the side in the past but I guess he crossed some sort of line that day."

"So what gave it away?"

Blake raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"You said you finally realized your feelings for her but you never said what made you see it. Was it really just because she told you he was an asshole?"

"No though hearing it from her definitely unclouded my mind. The whole time I felt like I had to be with him, that there wasn't anyone else out there for me. He made me feel like I couldn't be with anyone else because no one else wanted me, no one else understood me, but I finally saw that it was all manipulation. So no, making me realize Adam was an ass wasn't what made me see it. What did was her touch."

"A tree doesn't seem like a safe make out spot," Yang teased.

Blake grumbled and hit her with a pillow. "It wasn't like that! The branch we were on was small so we had to sit close. She had grabbed my hand to comfort me while we were talking and neither of us let go. Her hand was so soft and warm, Adam's were always cold and callous, and I found that I liked the feeling it gave me. When I looked at her those freckle like scales on her body were bright pink and I thought it was cute. It made me realize that there were other people out there for me, other people who understood and accepted me. I decided that I no longer wanted to be with Adam but I knew he wouldn't just let me leave him either."

"So what did you do about it?"

"I had my mission with Adam that night and after seeing him kill that man I told Ilia I wanted out so she got me a private meeting with Sienna and we left."

"I can't imagine she was happy about it."

"No but she understood. She thought I would have left with my parents and figured it was only a matter of time before I followed them. And she knew Ilia would go where ever I went."

"So you had feelings but you two never dated?"

Blake shook her head. " We flirted, a lot, and we kissed once but neither of us wanted to risk our friendship on a relationship. We had known each other to long."

"Whoa! Back up," Yang held up her hands to silence Blake. "You two kissed?"

Blake smirked. "Jealous?"

"Considering I'm the one with you in my bed, no," Yang chuckled. "I just thought you would have mentioned it before now."

"It was before she left on her mission," Blake spoke quietly, her voice somber. "She said she wanted to kiss me just once. I think she did it because she knew her chances of coming back were slim."

"It was meant to be a goodbye kiss," Yang scooted closer to Blake and wrapped her in a hug. "She's okay Blake. She came back."

Blake sniffed before huffing a laugh and engulfing them both in the blanket. "You know this isn't the reaction I thought you would have."

"I'm not him Blake," Yang assured as she brushed a strand of hair from Blake's face. "People have other relationships and you're a grown woman with a past. I accepted that when I accepted this job."

Blake looked into her girlfriends eyes and saw that none of what she had told her had changed what she felt. "I want you to know that you have nothing to worry about with Ilia. I still care about her but not in the same way I care about you. I love you Yang."

"And I love you," she gave her a quick kiss before hopping off the bed. "You should probably check those bandages."

Blake nodded and made her way to her friends resting form. "Do you have any more of these?"

"Do I have anymore?" Yang scoffed and scurried into her bathroom. "I hate hospitals and avoid them like the plague so I do most of my patching up myself."

Blake caught the roll of bandages Yang tossed at her and heard her fill a small bowl with warm water. She removed the sheet that covered Ilia and gently began to remove the bandages. "Her aura is healing her quickly. Most of these are pretty much gone but that head wound is still pretty nasty." 

She dipped a rag in the water and as soon as she touched Ilia's head the formerly unconscious woman shot up, her whole body turning blue save for her hair and the scale like freckles that dotted her body, which turned green. "Where am I?! What's going on?!"

"Sh!" Blake placed a gentle hand on Ilia's shoulder and used her other to motion at Yang, who had grabbed the knife on the kitchen counter, to stand down. "Ilia calm down it's me. It's Blake."

Ilia stared at Blake for a moment before tears started to fall from her eyes. "I'm so, so sorry Blake. I tried but I couldn't..."

"You couldn't what? Ilia what happened?

"He has them. Adam has your parents."


	19. The Meeting

Yang watched a flurry of emotions cross Blake's face. Shock, confusion, disbelief, anger, and, finally, fear. She crouched next to her as she began to shake but kept her gaze on Ilia.

"What does Adam want with her parents?" She demanded.

"He doesn't want anything to do with them," Ilia's color had returned to normal but her eyes still had sadness in them. "It's about Blake. It's always been about Blake for him. He believes they are supposed to rule the Fang together. A king and his queen."

Blake spoke Yang's words before she could get them out. "I don't belong to him! I thought I made that clear when I left."

"No all you did when you left was piss him off it seems," Ilia mumbled. "He has a camp in the forest surrounding Vale and he has a number of Fang members with him."

"How do you know so much about this?" Yang asked. "How do we know you aren't leading us into a trap."

"Honestly you don't," Ilia sighed. "Someone obviously tipped him off on where Ghira and Kali would be. I could tell you it wasn't me until I was blue in the face, literally, but it wouldn't prove anything."

Blake gave Yang a pleading look. "I trust her Yang. She had nothing to do with this."

"I don't blame her for being cautious," Ilia chuckled as she stood from the couch, testing her muscles with a few stretches. "She's doing her job as your body guard...and your lover."

"Ilia I-"

Ilia held up a hand and smiled as she silenced Blake. "We decided a long time ago not to risk our friendship on a relationship. What matters to me is that you're happy," her smile fell. "Besides, we have much more pressing matters to deal with."

"You know where he is right?" Yang asked.

"I know where he _was_," she sighed. "He likely moved camp."

"Even if we find him what are we going to do?" Blake stood and began to pace the room. "There's only three of us and he has who knows how many followers."

Yang pulled out her scroll. "I think I know where I can get some more muscle," she dialed a number and waited for an answer. 

"You really have horrible timing," the annoyed voice on the other end make her chuckle. 

"Yeah whatever Ice Queen. Give my sister her scroll back I need to talk to her."

"Hey sis what's up?"

"Got a side job for you if you want it. Put on some clothes and meet me at Crosshares. Oh and call Jaune too. We could use his team."

"See you in twenty then," her sister's voice was suddenly serious, hinting at her years of being the team leader. 

"Crosshares?"

"It's a bar a few blocks down," Blake explained while Yang rummaged through her dresser.

"Here," she tossed some clothes at Ilia. "They might be a bit big on you but strolling through town in Fang gear is probably not the best idea. Bathroom is over there."

After Ilia disappeared behind the door Yang got herself ready and jumped when she felt hands wrap around her waist. "Thank you."

"I'm not sure what you're thanking me for?"

Blake stepped back to allow Yang to face her only to find tears in her eyes, her feline ears flat against her head. "For going after them. You didn't have to. Your job is to keep me safe. Not them."

"Jeez," Yang sighed and kissed her forehead. "Believe it or not I actually like your parents and I would like to be able to tell them about us someday. It may be my job to protect you but it's also my job to keep you happy and I want to be able to continue to do that for a long time. Losing a parent is hard," she frowned and looked away for a moment, the feeling she had when her dad told her Summer wasn't coming home rose up in her stomach, "and I will do everything in my power to keep you from having to go through that."

Blake sniffed and wiped her tears. "And I here I was trying to put on brave face. I didn't want you two to see me like this."

Yang brushed the tears from Blake's face and gently ran her fingers through her hair. "It's okay to be scared. Anyone would be in this situation. I'd be worried if you weren't."

Blake sighed and leaned her face into Yang's palm, giving her palm a gentle kiss. "Thank you, again."

"You two gonna stare at each other all day or are we gonna get out of here?" They snapped their attention to Ilia who looked slightly ridiculous in Yang's baggy shirt and jeans. "Any chance we can stop somewhere to get some better combat gear for me? Fighting in this might be an issue."

"I think we know some place that can hook you up," Blake smirked and tossed Yang her leather jacket before grabbing her own and slipping it over her own combat gear. "Still got your weapon?"

Ilia nodded and pulled, what looked like, the stock of a revolver. All it was missing was the barrel. "Never go anywhere with out it," she watched Blake attach her own weapon to her back. "You still as good with that thing as I remember?"

"Thanks to Yang I'm even better with it," she winked and Yang found herself grinning with a hint of pride. 

Yang slipped her gauntlets over her wrists and led them outside. A buzz from her scroll told her that Ruby was also on her way.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Brought a new face with you I see," Velvet grinned as she greeted them. 

"Yeup," Yang nodded and leaned across the bar so only Velvet could hear her. "And we need a table in the back if you've still got one."

The bartenders eyebrows rose in interest. "Been awhile since you've asked for a back room. Everything alright?"

"If all goes as planned it will be. Ruby, Weiss, and JNPR will be joining us shortly so just bring them back when they get here."

Velvet slid her a single key across the bar and Yang motioned for Blake and Ilia to follow her. The back rooms of Crosshares were reserved for Huntsmen to gather and discuss jobs in private. Only those close to Velvet and Coco could enter these rooms so as to keep less reputable Huntsmen out of them. It was a small room with a circular table that could seat ten people, maybe twelve if you didn't mind sitting real close to people, two dim lights, a water dispenser, and sound proof barriers. 

"Pick a seat," Yang gestured to the chairs as she chugged down a quick cup of water. "The others should be here any minute."

As if on cue there was a knock on the door followed by her sisters voice. "All accounted for!"

Yang looked through the small peephole before opening it. "Pick a spot everyone. No assigned seats here."

"Who's the newbie?" Nora piped in from the back of the group.

"Nora," Ren quietly hushed her. "Sorry, she has no filter, but it is a good question. Yang?"

She sighed as she took her spot next to Blake, shamelessly draping her arm over her shoulders. "This is Ilia. A friend of Blake's from when she was in the White Fang."

"Yang!" Blake hissed, shocked that she would drop her past ties with them so soon.

As she expected the room was silent for a moment while everyone exchanged glances before Weiss spoke. "The White Fang? Your girlfriend was a member of a terrorist group?"

"_Was_ being the key word," Yang made sure to let her words double as a warning to anyone planning on lashing out at Blake. "I figured it would best you know now before you find out through some other means on this mission. Her story isn't mine to tell though. I'll leave that choice up to her."

Blake stared at her fiddling hands before letting out a nervous huff. "I was born into the Fang back when it was peaceful. My father ran it then but after he left I chose to stay. I told myself it was because I still believed we could change things for the better but I eventually realized that was a lie. My boyfriend at the time manipulated me into staying. He used the injustice that was given to him to guilt me. And like the naive young girl I was I obediently followed. Ilia was the one who made me admit what I already knew. That he was a violent, spiteful, man who was using and controlling me. I got tired of his deadly 'accidents' and Ilia helped me leave the Fang and him. She came to work for my father who decided to use her infiltration skills to gather information on recent Fang activity. She went MIA six months ago and was presumed dead before she showed up on Yang's doorstep. When she finally came too she told me that my ex has taken my parents for the sole purpose of drawing me to him," she glanced over at Ilia. "Line up with what you remember?"

"Forgot to mention he was a raging asshole but yeah that about covers it," Ilia grinned.

"Your crazy ex-boyfriend kidnapped your parents to get your attention?" Nora looked like she was still having trouble wrapping her mind around Blake's story. "That's beyond obsessive."

"This isn't the first time her tried to hurt her either," Yang added. "Two years ago Blake woke up in the hospital covered in injuries she has no memory of getting. She thinks he was the culprit."

"Are we going to get a name?" Weiss asked. "Or are we going to continue calling him 'Blake's crazy ex-boyfriend'?"

"Adam Taurus," Ilia muttered, making everyone's attention snap to her. "He was a White Fang lieutenant until he and Sienna got into it over his methods. He left and took some of her followers with him. Ghira had ordered me to keep an eye on the Fang for him and while Sienna is certainly no saint I knew it was Adam he would want details on. So I went followed him when he left along with a large group of members who were loyal to him. Last night Blake's parents were brought in and I was caught trying to sneak them out."

"You what?" Yang and Blake said together. This was the part of the story that Ilia had failed to mention earlier. 

"Adam ordered me to be taken care of," she continued, "but I didn't make it easy for them. I fought my way out and managed to make it to Yang's before I collapsed."

"How did you know where she lived?" Jaune asked.

"Ghira told me," she shrugged. "The lock wasn't budging so he told me to warn Blake and get help. I told him I wasn't going to leave him there and then I was caught."

"How did you make it to Yang's so fast?" Pyrrha was fiddling with a small piece of metal as she spoke, flipping it between her fingers effortlessly. "Was he that close to Vale?"

"He was close but not _that_ close. I had to hitch a ride on a passing, unsuspecting, truck. Which gave me some road rash when I jumped out of it," Ilia answered before smirking. "Are my answers satisfactory? Or am I still being interrogated?"

The room shared an akward silence before Ruby spoke. "We didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. We just wanted to make sure we had all the facts straight."

"Don't sweat it. I would be more worried if you were all overly friendly to me."

"So do you know how to get back to his camp?" Weiss leaned forward and rested her chin on her crossed arms. It was a relaxed position for the former heiress and one Yang knew she didn't usually do around strangers which meant that Ilia had managed to blend into their group much easier than she expected.

"I would know if he was still there," Ilia huffed. "Adam is short sighted among a slew of other choice words but he isn't stupid. He knows I made it out of that camp and has probably moved it somewhere else. He would likely still be in the woods though."

"That doesn't exactly narrow it down," Ren frowned and rubbed his chin, stroking the small amount of facial hair he had begun to grow. "Vale is completely surrounded by woods, they make up most of our kingdom. It could take weeks to search it all even if we split up."

"Unfortunately I think I have someone who can help us with that little problem," Yang groaned.

"A tracker?" Pyrrha asked. "They would be the most helpful."

Yang rubbed the back of her neck. "Not exactly. They can track but it's more than that. They live out in those woods and know them better than anyone else I know, but they arent exactly one of the good guys."

The realization of who she was speaking of crossed Ruby and Weiss's face. "Her?" Ruby squeaked.

"Yang you know we can't trust her," Weiss's tone held worry in it.

"Yeah I know but she's our best option with my uncle being over in Mistral."

She felt a tug on her jacket sleeve. "Who are you talking about?" Blake asked.

"My mother. Raven Branwen."


	20. Raven

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Blake sounded nervous as the wooden gateway to Raven's camp appeared.

"Considering the last time I came here I broke half the things in her tent and shattered her favorite tea set...probably not," Yang grumbled. "But she really is our best option."

"Shouldn't the others have come with us?"

Yang shook her head. "No. My mother isn't the nicest of people particularly to strangers."

"She's never met Ruby or Weiss?"

"Once," she huffed. "On a job years ago we needed information much like we do now. She isn't exactly a fan of the Schnee's and, well, Ruby's mom was Raven's teammate too."

"So why let me come?"

"Maybe I just want her to meet you," Yang winked but was suddenly serious as they approached the guards. "I'm here to see Raven."

They immediately pointed their guns at them and Blake reached for her weapon but Yang stopped her. "I would turn around miss before you wind up hurt."

Yang sighed and reached into her pocket, pulling out a single black feather from it and wished her mother would stop adding new people to her tribe. "Can I just see my mother please. It's urgent."

They cautiously lowered their weapons and looked between each other before slowly opening the gate. "Boss has some visitors! Look alive!"

The camp was bigger than the last one Yang had been too and she had gathered more followers to fill it but her mother's giant tent still stood at the back center of it. In front of the tent stood a familiar woman Yang was not to happy to see.

"Well, well," the woman crossed her arms. "Look what the Grimm dragged in. Better not be causing more trouble Xiao Long."

"Always a pleasure Vernal," Yang sneered. "She in there."

"She's out actually but she'll be back soon."

"Great. We'll just wait here then."

It was clear that Vernal wasn't happy about Yang's answer but she also knew better than to tell Raven she sent her daughter away. "Fine but I can't let you in her tent until she gets here."

"Fine," Yang sat on the other end of the wooden stage her mother's tent was on and gently pulled Blake into her lap. Ever since they had arrived she had noticed the stares her girlfriend was getting from the tribe and she wanted it to be clear that they shouldn't even try. 

"Did I hear all of this correctly? Yang Xiao Long in this camp?" The voice that pierced her ears made Yang suddenly feel very cold. She peered around Blake and found herself staring into the green eyes of her former partner, Blaze Summers. 

She pulled Blake closer to her like a security blanket and scowled at him. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Now is that anyway to treat an old friend. I happen live here."

_"I hear he's joined a group of bandits."_ Yang groaned as Weiss's words came back to her. It wasn't like she didn't think it was possible he had joined up with her mother's tribe but she really wished he hadn't.

"We aren't friends Blaze, never have been."

"Blaze?" Blake suddenly shot up from her girlfriend's lap and stood protectively in front of her. "Yang's old partner, Blaze."

"What's it to you?" He grumbled and his eyes wondered to her feline ears, which twitched under his stare. "I see you brought a stray with you," he scoffed. "I really wish Raven would stop inviting animals to the camp, it'll turn into a zoo before long."

"Watch it Blaze," Yang growled and stood up, Blake's form being the only thing keeping her from him.

"I guess you've always loved animals though," he mocked. "I mean you are friends with that rabbit eared girl."

"Her name is Velvet and if I remember correctly she kicked your ass twice during combat class."

His face fell into a scowl for a short moment before he shrugged. "Is that her name? Huh. Never really bothered to learn it," he turned his attention back to Blake. "What about you? You're pretty for an Faunus. Almost look human. Got a name?"

"My name isn't any of your concern," Blake rolled her eyes, incredibly annoyed.

"I would be a lot more careful of how you talk to me kitten," he stalked forward and reached out for her but Yang grabbed him before he managed to get to her.

"Do. Not. Touch. Her." 

His eyes darted between them for a moment before he laughed. "Well now. Animal lover and an animal fu-"

He yelped as Yang's fist suddenly connected with his face before he could finish his sentence and Blake took a few steps back from her girlfriend. Yang was mad, that was clear enough by her red eyes and flaming hair that danced around her, but Blake had never seen her _this_ mad. Her eyes darted around the other tribe members that began to circle them and she placed a gentle hand on Yang's shoulder.

"Hey calm down. We're incredibly out numbered here, starting a fight isn't a good idea."

"Oh I didn't start it," Yang seethed. "But I'm sure as hell gonna finish it." With a flick of her wrists, Yang readied her gauntlets and hovered over Blaze's dazed form. She picked him up by his shirt and stared him down. "Never talk about my girl like that."

"So you are fucking that animal," he spat at her. "That's messed up."

"You know, you've had this coming for awhile Blaze, it's just a shame I didn't kick your ass sooner," she harshly snapped before connecting her fist to his jaw and releasing a few rounds to his face, sending him flying backwards and right at the feet of her mother.

It was hard to see what Raven was thinking behind the full faced Grimm mask she wore but Yang guessed she was amused by the slight shake in her shoulders that suggested she was quietly chuckling. "Why is it every time you come see me you feel the urge to beat my men?"

"He had it coming," Yang growled.

"Oh I have no doubt," she huffed and yanked Blaze to his feet by the back his shirt, effortlessly. "Why are you harassing my daughter?"

"D-daughter?" He stammered. "I'm sorry Raven I didn't know. We used to go to academy together and-"

"He attacked her!" Blake spoke up from behind Yang. "They were partners and he attacked her."

Raven paused and tilted her head to, no doubt, get a better view of Blake from around her daughter. "And you are?"

"Blake, Miss Branwen," she stepped forward and intertwined her fingers with Yang's. "I'm her girlfriend. He threw himself on her after coming back drunk one night."

"Is this true Yang?" Raven's voice held a tone Yang had only heard a few times before in her life, sincerity. 

"Yeah," she confirmed. "He didnt get very far before I kicked him off me and into a wall. I never thought I would see him again, especially here. And the second I see him he makes slurs at my girlfriend. So I kicked his ass."

"Is. That. So?" Raven slowly turned her attention back to Blaze and quickly wrapped her hand around his throat, picking him inches off the ground. "You tried to assult my daughter?"

"Please ma'am I didn't know!" He choked, his eyes trying to search for something behind Raven's mask. "I was drunk!"

"My brother is constantly drunk and would never even consider it so dont try to use that excuse on me. I may be a bandit among many other things but even I have lines I won't cross!" Raven spat. "My men know those lines correct?!"

"Yes ma'am!" The rest of the camp shouted in unison, all with more than a hint of fear in their voices.

"I accepted you into this family because your skills proved useful to me but ever since you've become a part of this family you have been arrogant, ungrateful, and cocky. I was already growing tired of your bullshit and now I hear about this? I'm no longer just mad Blaze. You've managed to piss me off!" She tossed him into the dirt. "Tie him up outside. You know the rules. Give him a knife and some food. And make sure it's far away from camp I don't want his screams keeping me awake at night," she knelt next to Blaze and held his head up by his hair. "If for some miracle of life you manage to free yourself of your binds and survive the forest you better run as far as you can because if I see your face again it won't be the Grimm you'll be dealing with. It will be me."

The men drug him off and Yang and Blake followed her back to her tent. "You didn't have to do that," Yang insisted as they ducked inside. "I hate him sure but...feeding him to Grimm?"

Raven shrugged and sat on her bed. "I didn't like him much anyways. He had a mouth, very little respect, and he's messed up more tha a few jobs. Plus he hurt you."

"So why take him in?" Blake inquired. 

"He picked a fight with some of my men at a bar and when he handed them their asses I was impressed with his fighting skills. Seems it was all he was useful for."

"Well your men aren't exactly spectacular mom," Yang rolled her eyes.

"To an academy trained Huntsmen no they aren't. But they hold their own against the Grimm and are useful during raids. But you didn't come here to discuss the tribe Yang."

"No I didn't."

She sighed and removed her mask, setting it on the table nearby. It would be impossible to say that Raven wasn't related to Yang. Her black hair was in the same untamable mess as Yang's golden locks and the red eyes that peered back at them were the same color Yang's turned to when she was mad. "You need a favor."

"We're looking for someone."

"Your uncle is in Mistral, Yang. I know he writes to you sometimes. I checked up on him last week and he's fine, completely wasted, but fine."

"It's not Qrow."

A small flash of worry crossed Raven's face. "Tai? Is he okay?"

"No, no dad's fine mom," Yang began to run her fingers through her hair.

Raven sighed, slightly annoyed. "I can't be much help to you then Yang. You know how my semblance works."

"I don't need your semblance. Just your knowledge of these woods."

Raven leaned forward, her interest piqued. "Alright then. Who are you looking for?"

"A man named Adam Taurus. He's-"

"I know who he is. Why are you looking for a White Fang lieutenant? You don't want to get mixed up in all that."

Yang squeezed Blake's hand. "Kinda already am. Look I'll spare you the details. All I need to know is his location, that's it."

"I'll send some scouts out then. Will you be staying?"

Yang shook her head. "We have our own camp set up not to far from here where we will be staying with the rest of our team," she stood up. "I'll see you after you find him."

"Why don't you stay for dinner?" Raven shot up from her bed and placed a hand on her daughter's arm. "We managed get quite the catch on our last hunt."

"You mean your last raid?" Yang snapped. "How many families did you kill to get this feast of yours?"

Raven sighed and let Yang go. "It's our way of life."

"It's wrong and I know you know it is. But no matter how much dad and I try to convince you to leave you never will."

"My people need a leader Yang."

"Then hand it over to Vernal! We both know it's what she's gunning for. The tribe fears her and she's sure as hell bossy enough."

"They're my fa-"

"Don't!" Yang whipped around to face her mother, eyes burning red. "They aren't your family. They're crimals that need a place to live. You had a family, people who loved you, not fear you. And you chose to leave us."

"The Branwen's have ran this tribe for generations," Raven kept her voice calm but the sharp and cold edge it held was proof of her silently growing anger. "When my father died I was the only one who would step up and take the lead. There was no one else. I had no other choice."

"There's always another choice mother. You just chose wrong," Yang grabbed Blake by the hand and stormed out of her mother's tent, ignoring the prying eyes from the rest if the tribe. 

"Hey," Blake's voice was soft as she gently tugged Yang's arm, making her stop walking. With Raven's camp out of view and their own camp still a ways into the forest, Blake wanted to make sure her girlfriend was okay. "Wanna talk about it?"

"No," Yang grumbled and used her free hand to punch a nearby tree, taking a large chunk out of it. Her shoulders dropped and she hung her head. "Why?" Her voice cracked.

"Why what?"

When Yang faced her there were tears down her cheeks and her whole body shook. "Why doesn't she want me?"


	21. Her Mother's Story

Blake's ears fell flat against her head and her own tears threatened to spill over her eyes as she watched Yang lean on the tree she had just punched and cover her face. It was hard to imagine that this was same woman who nearly ran over a guy with her motorcycle, or punched a Nevermore clear out of the sky, or who danced in her kitchen. Yang always seemed consistently confident and strong and seeing her sobbing against a tree physically hurt Blake._ Everyone has a breaking point._ She thought to herself. Yang always seemed so mad when her mother was discussed but by now Blake knew it was front. She still loved her mother, still felt a sense of loyalty to her, but her feelings of abandonment and disappointment at Raven's choice of life caused her confliction. 

"Come here," Blake gently whispered and pulled Yang to her so she could safely release her feelings. "I-" she paused. Should she really talk about something she really knew nothing about. Her parents were overprotective sure but they were still great and loving towards her. But Yang still needed to talk about it. Even if all she needed was to scream. "I don't think she doesn't want you Yang."

Her grip on Blake's jacket tightened and she hiccuped a few times to try and gather her ability to speak. "Then why did she leave? Why won't she come back?"

"Maybe she's scared."

"You're funny," Yang grumbled into Blake's jacket.

"Im serious. Maybe she's scared of love. Scared that something so good could go horribly wrong. Scared that it would make her seem weak. Scared to be a mom."

"She didn't even give it a chance!" Yang sniffed and wiped her eyes as she detached herself from Blake. "Every time. Every time I see her I ask her to come back. Even if she just dropped in for a visit for the holidays or something. But no. She always gives me the same loyalty shpeel."

"So the only time you've ever seen her was when you hunted her down yourself?"

"Well no," Yang grumbled and kicked a rock. "She's found me a few times but only when I was in trouble and once because she heard from my uncle that I quit being a Huntress."

"So she's saved you a few times when you were in a tight spot and came to lecture you when you quit your profession. That doesn't sound like someone who doesn't care."

"You're only half right. She helped me a few times in a tight spot on a job or two but always told me that I needed to toughen up afterwards. That she won't always be around to save me or that maybe next time she would be too late. And she didn't lecture me when I quit she came to try and get me to join to tribe. She's been trying for years."

Blake sighed and took Yang's hand. "I don't know much on this subject. My parents have basically smothered me with love since I was born. And I can see why you feel the way you do. She left you for a life she didn't have to go back to. She made a choice and she chose wrong. But it seems to me that, in own strange way, she's trying to reconnect with you somehow. She just doesn't know how to do it yet," she stood on her toes and kissed Yang's cheek. "Continue to be cautious around her, hell continue to be mad, but I wouldn't give up on her just yet."

Yang let a small grin slip as she kissed between her feline ears. "How'd I get so lucky huh?"

Blake shrugged. "Because I didn't follow my father's rules and you saved me from a drunk asshole at a bar. Twice."

"Wish I could have done it sooner," Yang chuckled.

Blake kept her fingers interlocked with Yang's as the camp came into view. The sound of their footsteps alerted everyone and they quickly made a grab for their weapons before realizing it was them.

"Nice to see you guys too," Blake smirked as she and Yang took a seat on one of the logs they had gathered around and she sniffed the air around the fire that held a small cauldron of some sort of stew.

"So?" Ruby prodded. "What happened? You were gone longer then expected."

Yang rubbed the back of her neck. "We hit a snag in the camp but it's settled. She'll help us."

"What kind of snag?" Weiss crossed her arms in annoyance.

"Yeah she didn't try to recruit you or anything did she?" Jaune followed.

"No I made myself clear on that last time I was there. It's nothing really. Just if you hear screams tonight, ignore them."

"Screams?" Nora piped in from a mouthful of stew. "That's ominous."

"You ran into Blaze didn't you?" Weiss asked. 

"Weiss!" Ruby hissed and elbowed her partner. 

"You knew?" Yang was accusatory and Blake was glad she was sitting between them.

The former heiress shook her head. "No but I suspected. There's only so many bandit clans around and your mother happens to run the biggest one. I just hoped my hunch was wrong."

"But what does this have to do with screaming?" Nora pried and ignored the look she received from the rest of her team. 

"He pissed off my mom. So she punished him. He probably won't be alive come morning. And if he is then I doubt she will allow him back in the camp regardless of how bad he looks."

"I don't think he'll be coming back," Yang looked up to catch Ilia emerging from the woods, no doubt returning from guard duty, Ren followed shortly behind her. "I've heard that some bandit leaders leave traitors out for the Grimm but I've never actually seen them do it until today."

The focus turned to Ren. "We saw some bandits drag a guy through the woods. They had rope and bags with them."

Yang sighed. "They'll tie him to a tree, arm him with a knife, and leave a small bag of provisions for him. If he manages to escape the ropes before the Grimm find him he has a chance to survive but they're slim. A simple knife won't do much against an Alpha if he runs into one."

"So this is common punishment?" Blake asked. She had noticed, back in Raven's camp, that while Yang wasn't happy with Blaze's punishment she didn't seem all to surprized by it.

"Our uncle told us about it once," she stole a glance at Ruby, who nodded in acknowledgement. "Only the chief can issue it and it's usually reserved for traitors but he managed to piss her off enough I guess."

"Can't say he didn't have it coming," Jaune grumbled. "Pissing people off is his specialty."

"As rough as it is Jaune has a point," Pyrrha added. "Don't feel responsible for this. He got exactly where he is now on his own."

"I know," Yang groaned and stretched her arms above her head. "Enough of this depressing shit! Who has next watch?"

"Jaune, Pyrrha, and Norra," Weiss answered. "Followed by Ruby and I and you and Blake will be ending the shifts since you love to wake up early. They're simple two hour shifts so it shouldn't be to bad."

"Alight guys let's set up these sleeping rolls and catch some shut eye!" Ruby shouted enthusiastically as she unrolled her sleeping bag. "We got some parentals to save!"

Ruby flashed her an encouraging smile that Blake returned as she set her sleeping bag as close to Yang's as possible. It was bound to get chilly at night and Yang's warmth would be needed. She fell asleep quickly with her hand resting in Yang's.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Wake up sleepy heads," Blake groaned as Ruby gently nudged her with her foot. "Guard duty time."

Yang was already on her feet and stretching by the time Blake was able to open her eyes and begin to crawl out of the warmth of her sleeping bag. The cold morning air made her shiver and she quickly latched herself to Yang's side, who responded with a chuckle and quick kiss to the top of her head. 

The sun hadn't quite risen yet so it was still a bit dark out and Blake was thankful for her night vision as Yang guided her around the perimeter once so she knew where it was.

"We should probably take different ends," Yang suggested as she kicked a few sticks around. "Not my preferred plan given the situation but we can't leave a giant hole in the perimeter."

Blake gently rubbed Yang's back, finally waking up, and nodded. "I'll be fine. We're close enough to the other that if something happens I'll just scream and it shouldn't take too long for someone to get to me."

Yang still looked perplexed but passed a swift peck to Blake's lips before sending her to the other side of their camp. It didn't take long for Blake to get bored. She had been on guard duty before with the White Fang but they were always paired up so she always had someone to talk to. Pacing alone in a dark, unfamiliar, forest was not just displeasing, it was unnerving as well. Her ears twitched at the slightest sound of birds chirping or other animals scurrying around and her hands tightened around her weapon at the far off sounds off Grimm. About an hour into her shift she heard a new sound, a strange whooshing noise behind her, followed by footsteps. She whipped around and found her sword centimeters from the neck of Yang's mother, Raven. 

They stared at each other for a moment, Raven's full faced mask making Blake uncomfortable. "You're quick," there was a hint of amusement in her voice. 

"Why are you here?" 

Raven removed her mask and sighed. "Well I was trying to get to my daughter but my portal spit me out here which means she has to be nearby. I am glad you are here though," she smiled at her and Blake wasn't sure how real it was. "I wanted to apologize for Blaze's behavior towards you in my camp."

"It's nothing I haven't had to deal with before."

"I'm sure it isn't, in fact, I'm sure you've had worse. Doesn't make it right though does it."

"Not sure I trust your judgement of right and wrong."

"Because of the whole bandit thing right?"

"Because of the whole abandoning your daughter thing," Blake's ears twitched at a noise from the trees before finally lowering her weapon from Raven's throat. 

Raven frowned and rubbed one of her arms nervously. "I was never cut out to be a mom," she huffed. "Yang was unplanned. Tai and I were still young when I got pregnant but he was happy. I knew he wanted kids someday and I knew he would be a good father. I bet she thinks I left as soon as I had her doesn't she?"

"Something like that."

"Throughout my whole pregnancy I was terrified. I had just graduated from Beacon and I barely had my own life together. How was I supposed to take care of child if I could barely take care of myself? And she didn't make it easy on me. She was constantly moving and I always felt like I was on fire. Not to mention how much heartburn that kid gave me! But my biggest fear was that when I had her I wouldn't feel the joy and love you're supposed to as a mom."

"But you did?"

Raven sighed and leaned against a tree. It was scary how much like Yang she physically looked. Like someone took her girlfriend and painted her black and red. "She was born in the hottest part of summer and I thought I was going to die just having her. When she finally entered the world she was kicking and screaming so loud the nurse had to cover her ears and she didn't stop until the doctor placed her in my arms. As soon as he did she quieted down, looked up at me with those lilac eyes, and placed a small hand on my nose," Raven's lips curved at the memory as she tapped her nose. "She was so small and helpless and this world was so large and cruel and in that moment I told myself I would never let anything hurt her."

"And when did that change? Yang said you're view on life is that only the strong survive. Seems you didn't always think like that."

"When Yang was a few months old my father died. He was the leader of this clan of bandits and that view of life is his. As his children the next to follow in his steps would have to be either me or my brother. We're twins but I was born first and while my brother has good intentions he is also an alcoholic and not always the most responsible of sorts. It had to be me. Or at least I felt like it did then. I told myself it was better this way. If I had stayed the clan would eventually send people after me or Qrow and I wasn't going to put my family in danger like that. I thought that I was keeping her safe this way and if you had asked me two years ago I would have been too stubborn to admit otherwise. I ran. I left my family because I was too scared to raise one. And now, I'm too scared and too corrupted to return to it." 

Blake sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm glad you're able to open up about it but why tell me? Why not tell Yang to her face?"

"And make her give up her hiding place?" Raven smirked. "She wouldn't have stayed to listen if I did that."

_She knew she was here the whole time._ Blake thought to herself as Yang dropped from the tree above Raven with a quiet thud. The two women stared at each other with blank expressions and Blake could feel the tension rising in the air as the sun rose around them. _But now what will Yang do with her mother's story? _


	22. Let's Do This

Yang stared into the blood red eyes of her mother, unable to speak, her jaw locked in place. If she opened her mouth she was sure she would either scream or cry, perhaps even both. 

After what seemed like a tense eternity, Raven broke the silence. "I believe the question you had for so long was 'Why' correct? Did I finally give you the answer the were looking for?"

Yang's jaw loosened, only slightly, enough to grant her the ability to speak through her teeth. "You expect me to believe you were scared?"

"I don't expect you to believe anything I say Yang," Raven's face was still blank, like she didn't want to reveal whatever she might be feeling. 

"Why not just tell me? Why keep telling me you had a sense of loyalty to the tribe?"

"That isn't exactly a lie either. I've led them for so long that I do feel an obligation to them but I can't show fear around them. You've seen the men and women in my camp. I show fear around them and they will eat me alive."

"You act like you couldn't take them on by yourself," Yang scoffed and crossed her arms but she was slowly relaxing a bit more. 

Raven let a small smile slip. "Your faith in my abilities is flattering Yang but even I can get overwhelmed. I have over a hundred bandits in my tribe and while most are pretty useless outside of raids there are a few that would give me a run for my money. Like Vernal for instance."

"Oh please she basically worships the ground you walk on."

"Only because she wants to take over when I step down. It isn't worship, it's ass kissing. She may be my most trusted bandit but she is still a bandit. If I showed weakness it is likely she would turn against me too." 

Yang watched her mother's expression fall for only a moment, a brief revelation of the broken, exhausted, and scared woman she was on the inside, and sighed. _This isn't the time for this. We have more important things to worry about._ "You found Adam?"

"I did," Raven seemed relieved for the change of topic.

"Did you see my parents?" Blake finally spoke and stepped up to Yang, startling her. She had almost forgot her girlfriend was there the whole time. 

"Big guy, loud deep voice? And a woman about your size with short hair and feline ears that are are pierced on the right side?"

"That's them! Are they okay?"

"They seemed fine physically from what I could see. They're in the middle of the camp but really you could find them just by listen for your father's yelling."

"How far are they?" Blake was getting anxious, Yang could tell by the tremble in her voice. She reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"About a mile and a half straight north of your camp. Do you need me to lead you?"

Yang actually paused and considered her offer but shook her head. "It would be less tense if we got there ourselves. I don't think the others would be overly trusting."

"They seemed to trust me enough to find the camp but I understand. I'll keep and eye out though. If I don't see you return in a timely fashion I'll check on you. Another sword against them couldn't hurt right?"

"Sounds fair," the corners of Yang's mouth turned up in a slight smile. "Take care mom."

Raven replaced her mask and with a quick flourish of her sword opened a portal, making Blake jump. "You too Yang. Be careful," and in an instant she was gone.

"So that's what she meant by portal," Blake mumbled. "How does she do that?"

Yang huffed and allowed the rest of her tension to release from her shoulders. "It's her semblance," she tugged Blake to her and wrapped her arms around her. "Thank you."

The suddenness of Yang's affection caught her off guard but it didn't take long for Blake return the embrace and nuzzle her face into the crook of Yang's neck. "For what?"

"For not revealing my position for one. I know you heard me in the tree. I had come back to check on you when my mom stepped out of her portal so I hid. Your ears gave it away. But really thank you for last night. You were right. She's scared. I saw it for second. It was brief but still, she looked scared and tired. I think she may feel trapped at this point."

"Are you going to try and help her out of it?"

Yang shook her head. "Not until she asks me too and she may never do that. But maybe now that I know the real story she will be around more. Maybe she's less scared," she released Blake from their embrace. "Come on let's go wake the others. It's a pain getting Jaune up in the mornings."

"Like you need to rip his covers off pain to get up or you need to dump water on him pain?"

"You'll see," Yang chuckled.

As they entered the camp the only ones awake we're Ruby, Ilia, and Nora. They were laughing by the fire while they tending to their weapons. With the scales on her face turning pink, Yang assumed they had said something that was embarrassing for Ilia to hear. Their attention turned to Blake and Yang as they came into view and Ruby tapped a spot on the log she was sitting on. 

"How was watch?" She asked.

"Boring until my mom showed up," Yang groaned as she plopped on the log next to her sister. Blake politely gestured to the spot next in between Nora and Ilia and both girls gleefully scooted over to make room for her. 

"So she found the camp then?" Ruby asked as she folded her scythe back to it's compact position. "Is it far?

"Not really. About a mile and half straight north of here. Blake's parents are in the middle of it."

Ruby stretched and stood before giving Nora a knowing glance. "Alright. You should probably get to work waking Jaune up. Ilia if you could wake the others that would be great," both girl nodded at their orders. "Can I get your help with something sis?"

Yang nodded and followed Ruby away from the camp. Her sister had made a brief stop at her bag and stuffed some things from it into her pocket on the way. They didn't go far before her sister stopped at the river.

"I usually have Weiss help me with this but I thought maybe letting you help would possibly help you to cope with it too."

Yang was about to ask what she was talking about when Ruby gently removed her eye patch, revealing the empty socket underneath that was surrounded by scar tissue. This was the first time she had seen Ruby's injury, the chaos of the fight kept her from seeing it when it happened and she was already in a patch by the time Yang had woken up. A sudden rush of emotions flooded through her that she couldn't quite separate yet. 

"It healed well," Yang mumbled akwardly. She may not have seen her sister's original injury but she did remember Weiss talking to the doctor and him mentioning that Ruby was lucky to have only lost one eye and manage not to gain an infection. Now there were only a few long scratch scars surrounding the socket. 

"Weiss made sure I took extra good care of it while I was healing. She barely let me leave while I was recovering."

"I'm glad she took care of you," Yang couldn't help but feel a strong pang of guilt in her chest. She should have been there to help take care of her sister. It shouldn't have been left entirely to Weiss. 

Ruby must have noticed the look on her face as she placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Quit beating yourself up about it sis. It's done. We were both angry back then. Try and let it go yeah?"

Yang gritted her teeth for moment. She knew Ruby had a point but she couldn't deny that there was still some amount of anger in her. Not at her sister, that had passed a long time ago, but at herself. She was angry that she wasn't there for Ruby like she was supposed to be, angry at what she must have missed the past eight months, but mostly she was angry at the fact that she was still angry. She relaxed with a sigh. _We just started talking again and I don't want to ruin it. _"Right. So what do you need help with?"

Ruby handed her a simple, clean, washcloth. "If I had a mirror I'd be able to clean this thing myself but I didn't exactly pack one."

Yang raised an eyebrow. "You want me to help you clean your eye socket?"

"Not a sentence you ever thought you'd have to say is it?" Ruby chuckled and poured, what looked like clean water, onto it from a bottle. 

"Not exactly," Yang gently followed her sisters instructions on cleaning the area around the socket. She was worried she would end up messing up and accidently hurt her, which caused her hands to shake, but Ruby assured her she did well. 

With the area cleaned, her sister replaced the old patch with a new, clean, one. It was similar to her other one only instead of her signature rose on the fabric it had what looked to be a hybrid of her and Weiss's symbols with rose petals and snow flakes surrounding it.

"Cute," Yang teased, shoving what was left of her mixed emotions down as they made their way back to camp where they found the rest of their team wide awake.

Blake quickly slid next to Yang with a smirk on her face. "I new Nora was a very," she paused to find the right word, "exuberant person, but I wasn't expecting that."

"Did she use the hammer?"

"Slammed it on the ground right next to his head and screamed at him," Ilia chuckled and shared a fist bump with Nora. The two seemed to be getting along well.

The camp all laughed in unison and Jaune mocked their tone. "Oh ha ha! I'm glad I can be such a good source of entertainment for you all. One of these days you're going to spike my blood pressure so high that it will be the death of me."

"Hasn't killed you yet!" Nora mocked, sticking her tongue out of her mouth.

"A little help Pyrrha?"

The red head smirked as she shook her head. "We have tried everything else before. If you weren't so hard to wake up then Nora wouldn't have to scare you awake."

"Alright team!" Ruby gathered everyone around the embers of the fire that Pyrrha had just extinguished, burying the end of her scythe into the ground. "Blake's parents are being held about a mile and half north of here so we will head up that way together and then split off into four teams once the camp is in view. Weiss and I will find a high point somewhere close by and provide range support and keep and eye out for any traps, reinforcements, and Grimm. Nora and Pyrrha we need you guys to create a distraction. The more destruction around the camp the better."

Nora's face lit up. "You always know how to brighten up my day!"

"If there's metal in the camp it shouldn't be an issue," Pyrrha smirked.

"Ilia, Blake, and Yang you guys are going to focus on getting Blake's parents and getting the heck out of there. No need to linger any longer than we should."

"I should be able to sneak slightly ahead of you two to make sure the coast is clear and if I can snag a Fang mask it would be easier for me to go unnoticed," Ilia suggested as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"If my mom's information is correct and they haven't moved them then Kali and Ghira should be in the center of the camp."

"And they will probably be well guarded," Blake added. "My father is a very stubborn and very loud man. They would need people there to at least attempt to keep him under control."

"Ren and Jaune I want you two to focus on stragglers and try to make a clear line for Blake, Ilia, and Yang to follow to her parents but I also want you to conserve your auras in case we need you for support," she spun Crescent Rose around, allowing it to fold into it's compact form, and tucked it into it's holster. "Remember this is a search and rescue mission guys. We get in, we get Blake's parents, we get out of there. Once her parents are safely away from the camp Weiss and I will fire a flare shot into the air so keep an eye out for it. Everyone ready?" There was a collective shout of excited agreement from everyone. "Then let's do this."


	23. Taken

"You're sister's really good at coming up with plans," Blake whispered next to Yang as they waited for Nora and Pyrrha to start their distraction. 

Yang nodded. "She was picked to be our leader for a reason. Jaune has quite the eye for strategy too believe it or not."

"Bit hard to believe giving his strategy for waking up," Ilia snickered behind them. "But Blake's right. Your sister's plan is a good one. If we pull it off we can get out of here with minimal injuries and have Kali and Ghira out of here long before they even notice." 

Yang saw the worried look on Blake's face and gave her hand a squeeze. "We'll get them out Blake. This will work."

"It has too," she sighed. 

Yang chewed the inside of her cheek nervously._ Once Ghira and Kali are safe I'm letting them know that I'm telling Blake. I can't keep it a secret from her, especially not with Adam going after her again. _

And explosion in distance signaled them that it was time to move. The guards around the camp started stumbling over each other and Yang watched as Ren and Jaune crept forward, starting to clear a way for them. They waited a few moments before following them, Ilia grabbing a Fang mask off one of the guards the boys had knocked unconscious. 

"Knock knock!" They heard Nora's distinctive voice amidst the chaos followed shortly behind by the sound of her grenade launcher going off. 

"Remind me to stay on her good side," Ilia awed at the pink smoke that started to fill one side of the camp.

Yang snickered. "She's got the most brute strength of her team for sure but she isn't the one you should be worried about."

Right as she finished their eyes followed various metal objects from around the camp rise into the air and clash in one area followed by a laugh from Pyrrha. "That's fifteen for me!"

"No fair! Your semblance is cheating!"

"Right, so remind me to stay on both their good sides," Ilia nervously corrected herself. 

"We found where they're holding them," Jaune quietly said as he and Ren snuck back to them. "There's a couple guards there no that didn't leave their posts when the chaos started. Ren and I can take them out but it will attract some attention."

"How many guards?" Ilia asked

"Four if I saw correctly," Ren answered.

"Alright so if you four can each position yourselves near one of the guards and wait for me to get their attention then you should be able to knock them out no problem right?"

"Sounds easy," Yang shrugged.

"Just be careful Ilia," Blake worried. "You didn't exactly leave this camp on good terms."

"No but not everyone here wanted to kill me," she winked before sliding the mask she had grabbed earlier over her face. 

Following their plan, each of them quietly snuck around the guards until they were close enough to be able to reach them quickly while still remaining out of sight. After giving them time to situate themselves, Ilia ran up the guards, pretending to be out of breath.

"What the hell is going on here?" She gasped.

Two of the guards faced her, weapons drawn. "Ilia? What are you doing here? If Adam comes back and finds you here you're dead."

At the mention of her name the other two guards turned around. "We're under orders to capture you if we see you. Adam wants to deal with you personally," none of them looked like they actually wanted to follow those orders. 

"Yeah well he never did like me much," she sighed and placed her hands on her hips. "Good thing I wasn't a huge fan of him either or I might actually feel bad for this."

"For what?"

On cue the four of them leapt from behind their cover and effectively knocked the guards out without them alerting anyone else. Ilia turned one over with her foot and yanked the keys from his waist. "For that," she tossed the keys to Blake. "Now let's grab them and scram! The commotion is starting to die down."

Blake eagerly swung the cage door open, revealing the confused faces of her parents. "Blake?" Kali's ears twitched as she slowly walked up to her daughter and touched her face, making sure she was real before wrapping her in a hug.

"What are you doing here?" Ghira, on the other hand, was very concerned. "You're supposed to be at Yang's. Safely at Yang's!"

Yang peeked into the doorway. "Not that this isn't touching or anything but Ilia's right. We need to scram before they figure out what's going on."

"Ilia? She made it out alive?" Both of the Belladonna's looked relieved.

Ilia joined Yang in peeking through the door. "I'm fine. Blake's fine. Yang's fine. Everyone is fine. But we won't be if we stick around much longer so let's move it! It won't be long before the commotion bring Grimm and Ruby and Weiss still need to send up the flare so the others know we made it safely!"

They ushered Ghira and Kali out of the cage they were in and quickly made their way out of the camp, following the same path they took in. As soon as they were far enough away the sky lit up as a red flaming bullet pierced it and, as if on cue, thick pink smoke began to engulf the camp.

Jaune grinned from next to Yang. "Pyrrha talked her into smoke grenades for her launcher a few weeks ago. This is the first time she's gotten to use them."

"I told you they would come in handy!" Pyrrha laughed as her and Nora crashed through the trees, skidding to a halt once they reached the rest of them.

"Yeah but they don't really _do_ anything but make smoke," Nora complained. "My other grenades do that too but at least they actually explode."

Ren slid next to her and placed a calming hand on her back. "They do create more smoke than your other grenades and it helped you and Pyrrha to get out of there unfollowed."

"I suppose," she grumbled.

"Everyone accounted for!" Ruby's voice pierced through everyone else's conversations as her and Weiss finally caught up.

"Well we have two more than we started with so I would say it was successful," Ilia shrugged after a quick head count.

Ghira slowly approached Ruby and Yang couldn't help but quietly chuckle at the sight. Her sister barely came up to the belly button of the hulking man. Even so she didn't show any sign of being intimidated by him. "You must be Ruby?"

"Yes sir!" Ruby extended her hand for him. "Glad to see you're safe! Blake was really worried about you."

Ghira politely shook her hand. "It was quite the risk for you all to help like you did. My wife and I owe you a lot."

"Nah you don't owe us anything," Ruby assured.

"We're Huntsmen and Huntresses Mr. Belladonna's it's our job to help people in trouble," Weiss continued. "Plus Blake is a friend. We were glad to help."

"We should probably make our way back to our own camp," Ren announced. "We still might be close enough for them to spot us if they start searching and the Grimm are bound to set in any minute now."

Yang gently tugged on Ghira's jacket as everyone agreed to head back. "If it's okay with you, Ghira, I need to speak to you."

He nodded. "Yes I presume there's a lot to tell," he motioned for Kali to go with the others and Yang gave Blake a reassuring smile, hoping it would ease her girlfriends worry.

She waited until the others were out of earshot, particularly Blake's earshot, before speaking. "I would assume you're upset about Blake being here?"

"No," he sighed. "Once she found out what happened she wouldn't have stayed no matter what you did. I'm just glad Ilia made it to you in time."

"If I may, how were captured?"

"It was an ambush. He knew exactly where we would be and what time we would be there."

"What about Saber? I thought he was with you?"

"I sent him ahead to secure our arrival at the airport. But no one was supposed to know that except for the guards."

"Which means you likely have a traitor among them."

"The thought has crossed my mind and I plan on preforming a thorough investigation once we get back home. But all of that aside I owe you a thank you."

"I wouldn't thank me just yet," Yang grumbled, earning her a confused eyebrow raise from Ghira. "I can't keep lying to Blake about this. It's getting worse and his attacks are becoming more frequent. She needs to know."

Ghira sighed and rubbed his temples. "A part of me just wanted to keep my little girl as far from it all as possible but you're right."

"All of this is to get at her for leaving. His attack on her two years ago, the attempts on your life, the Fang attack in the alley, now this. He's going to come straight after her next and she isn't prepared for it right now becau-"

Ghira held up a hand to silence her as his eyes grew wide. "Blake? How long have you been standing there?"

Yang felt her heart drop and for once she actually felt cold as she turned to face Blake, who was staring at them in shock.

"You knew," Blake's voice cracked with emotion and her eyes were glassy with the threat of tears. "You knew before I even told you about what happened. You knew everything and you didn't tell me. Why?"

"It was my-" Ghira started but Yang silenced him much like how he did her.

"I thought I was doing my job of protecting you," Yang tried to take a step forward only to feel the sting of Blake retreated two steps back.

"By lying to me! I told you everything, I never lied to you about any of it, and we...you said that you..."

"I never lied about that Blake!" Yang hurriedly defended, knowing she was talking about when she told her she loved her. "I would never lie about that. Just please let's talk about this."

She tried to get closer to her again, seeking some sort of comfort and reassurance but Blake retreated more. "I can't. Not right now," she sobbed as her tears finally fell and she darted off into the forest, leaving Yang and Ghira calling after her.

"Yang why didn't you tell her that I ordered you not to speak of it to her?"

"Because," her voice cracked and she coughed to try and hide it, "because you're her father, she loves you, and I didn't want to risk her lashing out or hating you for this. It's better she hates me."

He rested a gentle hand on Yang's shoulder. "I'm not the only one standing here that my daughter loves and I know I'm also not the only one standing here that loves her back."

Yang tensed under his hand and dared a glance at him, expecting to see disappointment or anger but instead found him grinning sadly. "I'm not as oblivious as my daughter seems to think I am. I know what young love looks like Yang, I was in it myself once."

"I didn't know how you would react with me being her bodyguard as well."

"If anything I would say it gives you even more reason to protect her," he gave her a little nudge in the direction Blake ran off to. "Go after her. She might be more willing to talk if it's just the two of you. I'll catch up to the others and tell them what happened. Just hurry back with my daughter so we can get this whole thing sorted."

Yang gave him a quick nod before sprinting off into the woods after Blake, hoping she hadn't gone too far. She kept her eyes and ears peeled for anything that could tell where she was and even with her scroll flashlight out, she wished she had Blake's acute hearing and night vision. 

"Blake please!" She called. "We need to talk about this! I never wanted to lie to you just let me explain!" 

She continued to call out for her for what felt like and hour and got nothing in return. Starting to get worried, she began retracing her steps back hoping to get the others to help find her, but stopped when she felt something metallic crunch under her foot. 

"The hell is that?" She grumbled and aimed the light at her feet, finding that the thing she had stepped on looked agonisingly familiar. She bent down and grabbed the handle of the black blade that lay on the ground and felt like the world around her was starting close in. "Gods no."

It was part of Blake's weapon. And there was blood on it.


	24. Do Your Job

Blake came to a skidding halt and leaned against a tree for support as she wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to sort through the emotions she was feeling. Yang had known everything. Who Adam was, his attack on her two years ago, and the fact that he was still after her and she kept it from her. Blake screamed and lashed out at the trunk of the tree with Gambol Shroud, leaving a large gash in the wood. Her chest hurt, like heartbreak.

_"I felt I was doing my job as your body guard."_

"Job or no she should have told me. I had enough of one lover hiding things from me I'd think she would know that," she sighed and began to pace. "She may be my bodyguard but she's also my girlfriend, thought I would come before her job," she paused in her tracks as a realization hit her. "A job that my father hired her for!"

It made sense. Yang always seemed akward or uncomfortable whenever Blake brought up Yang's meetings with her father and she dodged certain questions. Her father was always over protective of her, even before Adam attacked her, so of course he would want her to know as little about his attacks as possible.

She leaned against the tree she had just vandalized and crossed her arms. "She probably thinks I hate her."

She didn't. She couldn't. She loved Yang more than she could put into words she was just hurt that she was kept in the dark about everything and, as usual, instead of talking it out with her she had ran. They needed to talk, and she knew Yang was probably looking for her already. She needed to find her.

"Going somewhere?"

The ice cold voice stopped her dead as she began to make her way back and she was barely able to bring her sword up in enough time to block the familiar red blade.

"Adam," Blake hissed as his masked face came into focus. She jumped away from him and held her sword in front of her like it was a barrier between them. "I should have known you would be close."

He stuck the tip of his sword into the ground and leaned against it like a cane. "So my camp is in quite the disarray. Do you know how much planning I put into catching your parents off guard?"

"Save it Adam I know you were using them as bait!"

"Well that was the plan, yes, but I had planned to move them to our more permanent base of operations first. Tell me, how did you manage to find out about your parents so quickly?"

"I think you already know the answer to that."

He frowned. "So Ilia is alive. I didn't think she would make it that far with her injuries, she's more resilient than I gave her credit for. I'll have to fix that once I'm finished here."

"And what exactly are you planning to gain from killing me? What outcome are you hoping for?"

"Kill you?" He smirked. "I never said anything about killing you, my darling, my goal is to bring you back to me."

"Don't call me that," Blake hissed. "I'm not your darling. I'm not anything to you anymore."

"Yes because you've found a new lover," he grimaced. "A human no less. Don't worry I'll deal with her too."

Blake's blood began to boil. "I won't let you touch her."

He pulled his sword from the ground and swung it around a few times. "I'm not asking permission."

His sword arm twitched and it was the only warning Blake had before he charged her. She was glad she never lowered Gambol Shroud or she may not have been able to block him. Her arm stung as their weapons collided and theirs swords clashed in quick succession. Any attack she managed to land on him he would retaliate with a stronger one. He was trying to wear her out, and he was succeeding. 

"You've improved," Adam smirked. "Been training have we?"

"Every day for a little more than a week with Yang," Blake crouched down, preparing her legs for a leap. "She's taught me quite a bit."

Leaping into the air, she hid amongst the trees, always leaving a clone in her wake to try and throw him off. "You're fast Adam," her voice echoed through the canopy, making her sound like she was everywhere, "and you're strong, I won't deny that. But I've always had you beat when it came to agility."

"Still playing the coward I see!"

Blake quickly slid up behind him and gave him a quick slash to his back. He growled in pain and whipped around to face her, their weapons colliding again. "I'm not playing anything. I just want you to leave me alone!" 

She kneed him in the gut and slashed her bladed sheath at him, putting as much force behind it as she could. He managed to block the attack but it still sent him flying into a nearby tree.

He stood up with a groan. "Leave you alone? After everything I did to get you back?"

"You attacked me! You attacked my father! You stalked me! And to top it off you kidnapped my parents!"

"You weren't listening anymore," he sighed and adjusted his mask, "and you're not listening now," his sword began to glow. "We were meant to rule the White Fang, to rule over humans. And yet here you are. Sleeping with the enemy!"

In a quick movement Adam sent out an attack from his sword straight at Blake, an attack stored with all the energy of their fight so far. The energy wave blasted through the clone she leapt behind and cut straight through her aura. Her knees buckled and Gambol Shroud dropped from her hands, it had broken in half from blocking what she could of his attack. She had seen his semblance in action many times before but that was the first time she had felt it and she now understood why few people survived it. 

"I never wanted to hurt you, you know," his smile taunted her as he bent down and picked up her broken weapon. "None of this would have happened if you had just stayed with me and behaved."

_I can't speak. _Blake realized as she opened her mouth and nothing but gasps came out. _His attack knocked the wind out of me. _Since she couldn't speak she spat at his feet.

Adam scowled at her. "Why are you so stubborn?!" He yelled and she felt a white hot pain in her side as he plunged her own, broken, weapon into her. 

She howled in pain and gripped at the sword, trying to pull it out to no avail. Her vision blurred as he knelt beside her and gently traced his cold fingers over her cheek. "Don't touch me!" She hissed, finally finding her voice.

He smacked her across the face and ripped Gambol Shroud out of her, eliciting another howl of pain from her. She swirled her tongue against the inside of her cheek and tasted copper. Blood. She spat the dark liquid on the ground as her consciousness began to fade. _I can't die here._ She fought to keep her eyes open._ I still need to talk to Yang. I need to tell her I don't blame her. That I still love her. _

Don't worry darling," Adam smirked and picked her up, tossing her over his shoulder, "I'll patch you up back at base. Maybe you'll listen better now that you've wasted some energy."

She wanted to say something, she wanted to fight back but she couldn't move. _I lost too much blood. _She reached out in front of her and whispered the only thing she could. "Yang...please. Do your job."

Then her world faded to black. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Branches smacked Yang in the face as she sprinted through the forest but she ignored them. She never ran back and told the others where she was going, what had happened, she couldn't waste that kind of time and she certainly wasn't going to return to Ghira without Blake. She wasn't sure where Adam had taken her but her best bet was the abandoned lumber mill that sat about a mile north of where Adams camp was. 

_I can't believe I let her out of my sight! _She scolded herself._ You had one job Yang! _

As the mill came into view she realized her hunch was right. White Fang grunts circled the perimeter and stood watch from makeshift towers. If Adam had Blake anywhere it would be in the large building in the center. The trick would be getting there unnoticed. Stealth wasn't Yang's strongest attribute, she never had the patience for it but now she had no choice. One wrong move could get Blake even more injured than she likely already was. 

"Think anyone is gonna come for her?" Yang tuned her ears to a few nearby grunts.

"Not if they're smart," the other groaned as he stretched, the antlers on his head making it look a bit awkward. "Adam is already in a mood. I'd hate to be at the end of blade right now."

"Yeah," his friend sounded almost sad, "I know Blake is a traitor and all that but I still feel bad. Adam was a bit rough with her."

"She'll be fine. The medic already saw her and patched her up. Her aura has likely healed most of her wounds by now."

Yang's heart pounded as her anger and worry grew. _I'm going to kill him. _She shot out of cover and in one quick motion knocked out the grunt with antlers and pinned the other against a nearby tree, covering his mouth. "Where is she?!"

His eyes were wide and his legs trembled. Now that she could see him up close Yang could tell he was young, no older than fifteen, the same age her sister was when she started Beacon. "W-who is she?" He mumbled over her hand.

"Blake!" Yang's voice remained hard and threatening but she loosened her grip on the boys throat and removed her other hand from his mouth, opting instead to get one of her guantlets pointed at his leg. "I know Adam took her. Just tell me where he has her."

He shook his head. "He'll kill me if I tell you."

"And what do you think I'll do of you won't?" She cocked her gauntlets, reading one of her shells to be fired.

"The mill!" He yelped and flinched. "Top floor. She's restrained or at least was when he brought her here. Please don't k-kill me."

"I'm not a killer kid. I just needed to confirm my suspicion was right. You saved me some time," she flashed him an apologetic grin, "Sorry for this," she quickly spun on the balls of her foot and connected a round house kick to his temple, rendering him unconscious._ At least now if anyone finds you it will look like you put up some kind of a fight. _

The mill was about a hundred yards ahead of her and surrounded by White Fang grunts. Luckily for her the lumber yard was also full of containers, stacks of logs, and smaller buildings to hide and sneak around. She hated stealth, she always thought it took way to much time and if it was anyone else but Blake in that building she would have charged her way through the grunts in a beeline for the mill. But it was Blake, and she was hurt, and Yang wasn't going to risk it.

As the door of the mill came into view someone walked out of it, locking it behind him._ Great now I need the key!_ But as the man turned around she realized that she recognized him and suddenly Yang knew how Ghira and Kali had been taken. It was one of their guards, the young trainee that Saber was working with the day she started her job as Blake's bodyguard. _He was a member of the Fang the whole time! Adam likely used him to infiltrate the house and gain knowledge on Blake's whereabouts and activities. Which means he knows about me._ She needed that key. And she needed to have a conversation with that kid. 

"I knew someone had to have given away Ghira's whereabouts," she waited until he was alone near the edge of the perimeter before she stepped from the shadows. "And even though I suspected it was someone in his employment I was really hoping I was wrong."

Recognition flashed in his eyes. "You're Blake's bodyguard," he eyes her guantlets nervously. 

He took in a deep breath like he was going to yell but she quickly charged him and picked him up by his shirt, his feet dangling inches from the ground. "I'm not the only one here that swore to protect a Belladonna," she seethed. "Ghira gave you a job, a place to live if you needed it, and I know he pays well. How could you do this to him? How could you do this to Blake?"

"I didn't have a choice!"

"You always have a choice!"

His face fell. "I have no parents," he sighed. "The only family I have is my little brother. We went to a White Fang rally about a year ago and Adam was the speaker. I could tell something wasn't right with him but Noah? He fell for his speech hook, line, and sinker. I joined with him to keep him safe. A few months ago Adam came to me and told me to join the Belladonna guard, I wasn't incredibly active in the Fang so it's not like anyone knew I was a member. When I tried to refuse he threatened Noah. Said his next mission might not go as smoothly. I didn't want to hurt the Belladonnas, they were so kind to me but, I wasn't going to let him hurt my little brother! I promised I would look after him!"

Yang slowly lowered him to the ground but kept her grip on his shirt. "I understand how you feel. I promised to protect several people," images of her sister when they were young and of Blake curled up next to her flashed in her mind, "but I messed up and they got hurt. But I'm trying to fix it and you can fix yours. Give me they keys to the mill so I can save Blake."

"If he finds out I gave them to you..."

"He won't. As far as he will know I knocked you out and took them. And that's assuming he survives the night."

He pulled the keys from his pocket and held them out for her then pointed to his jaw. "Make it a good one yeah? Don't want Noah thinking I'm a wimp."

Yang smirked. "Can do," with a quick uppercut she knocked him a few inches into the air before he slammed into the dirt. "Look after your little brother while you still can, there will come a time where he doesn't need you anymore." She muttered as she stepped over him. "Hold on just a little longer baby. I'm coming."

** A/N: Hey guys! I know this upload was a lot slower than usual but I've officially caught up to what I had prewritten for Guardian so updates are gonna take a bit longer. Just bear with me guys, finding the time to write between work and taking care of my son can be a bit difficult. But Guardian is far from over! Thank you for your support on this fic! It means the world to me! **


	25. Defeated

There were several things Blake noticed when she regained consciousness. First and foremost, she was tied to a post of some kind. She wiggled her hands to try and test how well she was restrained and found very little resistance. She noticed empty weight where Gambol Shroud usually sat strapped to her back and remembered that the weapon had broke. As her vision came back she found that she was taken to some sort of empty building like a mill or warehouse. As she wiggled around she felt a tight pull in her side that felt familiarly like stitches meaning she was patched up by someone, her aura already doing its job at healing her. And lastly, and to her discomfort, sitting directly across from her, with a devilishly cocky grin, was Adam.

"Finally awake darling?" He smirked at her. She hated his smirk, it was so different from Yang's. Hers was full of mischief and flirting. His was full of cockiness and control. 

"I told you not to call me that!" She hissed.

"It's what I've always called you," he sighed and stood from his chair, quickly clearing the distance between them. He held her chin in his hand firmly. "There was a time when you loved that pet name."

"A time that has long since passed. I've moved on from you Adam why can't you just leave me be?" She jerked her face away from him.

He groaned and began to pace in front of her. "Did you think that maybe I _haven't_ moved on? You think I didn't try? I buried myself in White Fang missions, I climbed as high as I could just to try and get rid of you from my mind but," he gritted his teeth and quickly pointed his sword centimeters from her throat, "you're a _problem_ for me Blake."

"Well you should really fix that," she stared him down, not giving him the satisfaction of seeing how scared she really was.

"You know I tried to do that," he sat back in his chair and laid his sword across his lap. "About two years ago remember. You were just as stubborn then as you are now. I would have succeeded in bringing you back with me if your father and that guard of his didn't interrupt me!"

Suddenly the memories Blake's mind had been repressing flooded back to her. Her father's speech, the tea shop they were supposed to meet at, Adam showing up and saying he just wanted to talk, their argument over her leaving, his attack, and her blacking out.

"You almost killed me!"

"No I weakened you," he scoffed. "You were refusing to come with me, much like you did tonight, so I simply made you more agreeable."

"Why are you so obsessed with me?"

Adam growled at her and opened his mouth to speak but before he could there was a loud commotion outside the building. "Useless. Every single one of them," he muttered on his way to the noise.

As soon as he was out of sight she felt quick hands on the ropes that tied her hands behind the pole. She opened her mouth to shout at them but a warm hand gently covered her mouth.

"Please don't make my job harder."

As soon as her hands were free she quickly faced her rescuer and wrapped her arms around them. "I knew you'd come for me," she cried into their neck.

Yang huffed a quiet laugh and gently stroked her hair. "Of course I did. Now let's get you out of here, your dad's worried," she reached behind her and pulled out something she had hidden and placed it in her hands. "I know it's broken but it can still shoot and it can still protect you if needed. I couldn't find the sheath though."

She ran her hand across the remains of Gambol Shroud. "It's alright. Something is better than nothing. How did you get in here anyway?"

Yang grinned and held up a pair of keys. "I had a word with some of the guards," she tossed them in the air briefly and caught them with a flourish. "Now let's get you out of here."

As Yang led her towards a backdoor Blade felt her heart rate speed up as her freedom came within arms reach but her joy was short lived as she heard footsteps behind them. Yang glanced over at her ears as they twitched and was able to tackle Blake out of the way before the red blade was able to connect with them.

"You must be Yang," Adam scowled as he sheathed his sword. "I'm glad you're here, it saves me the trouble of having to hunt you down. You'll regret taking what is mine from me."

Blake stayed on the ground as Yang stood protectively in front of her. Her shoulders shook as she quietly laughed at him. Blake didn't need to see her face to know her eyes were red in fury. "I'm gonna knock that mask off your narcissistic face so I can see your eyes as I kick your ass."

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_His mask pisses me off._ Yang thought as she brought out her gauntlets with a flick of her wrist. _Reminds me of my moms._ She always thought cowards hid their faces, something that elicited several arguments with her mother. "Blake doesn't belong to anyone," she seethed at him. "She makes her own choices."

"Very poor choices, but don't worry you'll be out of my way soon and with you gone she will come crawling back to me. She always does."

"I'm not the same girl I was then!" Blake yelled from behind Yang, who smirked at her girlfriend's attitude towards him. "You manipulated me, you used me, and you made me believe I couldn't do any better than you," Yang felt Blake's hand grasp hers as she stood. "But I can do better, I did do better, and I'm never going back to you. Ever."

"Your move," Yang challenged.

The building was silent for a moment as they stared each other down. Yang's eyes darted over her opponent with precision, noting his stance and the way his hand never left his sword hilt. In a sudden motion his hand twitched and Yang was just barely able to pull Blake behind her and block his attack with her gauntlets. She fired off a couple rounds, using their force to propel her and Blake away from him. They faced each other again but no matter which way Adam moved Yang always kept Blake out of his line of fire. 

"You really think you can save her?" He scoffed and readied himself again.

"I made a promise," Yang said as they clashed again, his sword creating sparks against her guantlets. "I am not letting you hurt her again!"

She quickly brought her knee to his gut, breaking their contact, and fired off round to his face. He stumbled back and clutched his mask as it began to crack. His breathing became heavy and a low growl escaped his lips.

"You think she'll stay with you?" His growl turned to laughter. "She's always been a runner. She ran from me, she ran from the Fang, she ran from her father, and I'm guessing she already ran from you."

Yang glanced behind her and saw Blake's ears droop as she looked dejectedly at her feet. "Yeah she did," Blake's head snapped up and her eyes glassed over with tears. Yang reached out and grabbed her hand, "but I will always be here when she comes back."

Blake squeezed her hand and moved to stand next to her. "Yang isn't you Adam. All you ever did was control me and make me feel like no else wanted me, like I didn't belong anywhere else. Yang showed me that the freedom I had wanted for so long was a lot closer than I thought. I've made friends because her, I've gotten stronger because of her, and I've learned to love someone because of her. She never controlled me like you did," her grip tighten on her broken weapon. "We're not just lovers we're partners. And we will fight like partners. Together."

With a quick nod to each other they charged him together, with her weapon broken Blake was singled to only being able to use the gun mode of Gambol Shroud and making quick use of her clones as decoys while Yang used her strength to block his attacks and countered with her own. But not a single one of their hits landed on him and as the minutes passed he began to look almost bored. They needed to end this quickly and a knowing glance told them what to do. Blake darted forward before quickly changing her direction by using a clone as a springboard and tugged on her ribbon as hard as she could sending Yang flying toward him at a startling speed. 

As Adam quickly got closer he began to glow red. Yang heard Blake yell for her, she heard Adam laugh maniacally, and then she felt a searing pain. _I can't feel my right arm._ Yang struggled to move or speak but her body wasn't listening to her. _I failed her. I'm sorry Blake._ Her world began to fade as a whirring noise and a flash of dark red light was the last thing she saw and Blake's agonizing screams was the last thing she heard.

**A/N: Hey guys! I am so sorry about this chapter took so long. Being a full time mom and working a full time night shift job doesn't leave me much room for writing anymore. Thank you for your patience and your continued support of Guardian! It really means the world to me! You guys are the best! **


	26. Let's Get This Over With

There was a steady beeping in Yang's ear when she finally started to come to and she felt a familiar pressure in her left hand that made her smile. She cracked open her eyes and saw Blake asleep in a chair she had scooted near her, her head resting on her arm. It wasn't until she went to reach over with her right arm and the limb never responded that her fight with Adam came back to her. _I couldn't feel my arm then either._ Preparing herself for the worst she dared a glance to her right side and felt everything speed up when she saw nothing there but a bandaged stump.

"Yang?" Blake's head shot up as Yang's hand gripped hers in a vice-like hold, it was the only thing that kept her grounded. Noticing her girlfriend's panic she forced Yang to look at her. "Yang! Baby look at me! At me Yang!" The beeping of the heart monitor continued to speed up and Yang's chest began to hurt. "Nurse!" 

Two nurses ran into the room and one tried to hold Yang down as the other injected her IV with a sedative. She kept her gaze fixed on Blake's golden eyes until the medicine did it's job and she calmed down. Then with a polite nod from Blake that signaled everything was alright, the nurses left.

"My arm," Yang's voice was hollow, like she hadn't yet processed her emotions yet. "Blake my arm."

Tears fell from Blake's eyes as she gently ran her thumb over Yang's knuckles. "Yeah baby it's gone. But you're alive. We both are thanks to your mother."

A spark of emotion crossed Yang's face but Blake couldn't tell if it was shock or anger. "My mom saved us? Did she kill him?"

"Unfortunately no," Raven grumbled as she entered the room, holding two cups and handed one to Blake. "He bolted shortly after I got there but I didn't have the time to chase him. You needed medical attention immediately. I have scouts looking for him though."

"Why are you here?" 

"I can't see my daughter in the hospital?" 

"You never have before." 

"You've never lost a limb before." 

Blake held her hands up silencing them before their bickering turned into a larger argument. She pointed at Raven. "How about we don't argue with the daughter we are trying to make amends with," she pointed at Yang with her other hand. "And how about we don't pick a fight with the woman who saved us?" 

Yang apologized with a huff. "Thanks. How did you know to find me?" 

Raven grumbled over her cup, feigning annoyance. "I told you that if I didn't see you in an hour I would come didn't I? Not only did an hour pass but I saw your group return without you," she looked away and a slight embarrassing shade of red creeped up her ears. "I figured you had gotten yourself into trouble as usual." 

Yang smiled, knowing that was as close to an 'I was worried' as she was going to get, and went to reach out her hand for Blake's again as a sudden blur darted into the room, flattening Yang to the bed in a hug. 

"You're okay! We've been so worried!" 

Yang tapped on the arms around her to signal her lack of air and held her hand up to calm her mother who had a ready hand on her sword. "I'm alive if that's what you mean." 

"You almost weren't," Yang followed the sorrowful voice the the entrance of the door where she found her sister leaning against the frame, tears already trickling from her eye. "Nora think you could go let every one know she's awake?" 

Nora obeyed with a salute and Yang nodded at Blake and her mom. "I think some time with my sister would be nice." 

Blake leaned down pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "I won't be far if you need me," she grabbed a reluctant looking Raven on her way out. "Come on, I don't know about you but I'm starving." 

Ruby waited until they left before entering, closing the door behind her, and sitting in the chair Blake had pulled up to her bed. _This silence is awkward. Why isn't she yelling at me?_

"So guess I'm a lefty now huh?" Yang half-heartedly joked. 

"Is this how you felt when I lost my eye?" Ruby sniffed and her grip tightened on the hospital blanket. "Useless? Like there was more you could have done? Being so angry but you're not even sure at who?" 

"Yeah," Yang sighed, "I never should have left your side in that fight. There were so many of them I should of known it would be best if we just stayed in a group and took them out together. Maybe you wouldn't have lost your eye then." 

"I should have searched for you," Ruby chastised herself at the same Yang spoke. "When Ghira came back without you I should have grabbed Weiss and looked. We knew he could have been anywhere in those woods, we knew it could have been swarming in Grimm, we knew it wasn't safe alone." 

"You had no way of knowing where I went. That's a lot of ground to cover sis. I should have gone back and grabbed you guys when I found Blake's weapon on the ground. I just panicked! I didn't think I could have wasted the time to go back." 

"You're lucky your mom showed up," Ruby let a small, albeit sad, smile slip. "Blake said she came sprinting out of that portal like a mad woman, swinging her sword every which way, even landed a few good hits on Adam before he ran. It seems like she's really trying this time." 

"Yeah but for how long?" 

"Yang she's the queen of the bandits. Who knows how large the bounty on her head is but she's risking it to stay in the hospital with you. For three days I might add." 

"I've been out for three days?!" 

Ruby nodded. "The doctor was actually quite impressed with your recovery time. Your aura healed your wounds quickly but they kept you under for a little bit longer just to be safe." 

Yang was about to comment about how her aura always recharged quickly due to the way her semblance worked when there was a commotion outside the door. 

"Ma'am I'm sorry but I can't let you in right- Raven would you put that thing away you're making the nurses nervous!" Yang let out a chuckle at Blake chastising her mother but it was her mom's grumbled compliance that amused her the most. 

"Frankly, young lady, I don't give a damn," the voice that snapped back was older and held a familiar amount of sass that made Yang stare back at a guilty looking Ruby. 

"You didn't." 

"She asked about you!" Her sister defended. "And I'm not gonna lie to her about what happened! We both know she could kick both our-" 

"You idiot!" The door swung open and Yang was able to shield her head with a pillow as a skull engraved staff came down on it. "What were thinking charging in there without any kind of backup? Have you learned nothing since you were a teenager? First your sister and now you? Do you want to wind up dead?" 

Yang dared a peek from behind her pillow shield and into the mechanical eyes of one of their old teachers, Maria. Her short stature and frail old lady look was deceiving to her actual fiery personality and surprisingly sturdy body. The blue light of the Atlas grade goggles that allowed her to see were in slits, giving her a disapproving look. 

"Firstly," Yang huffed," I didn't charge in anywhere I snuck in through a side door. Secondly, I have learned a lot since I was younger and you know it. And lastly, if I wanted to wind up dead I wouldn't be sitting here very much alive." 

She huffed as she hopped into the chair Ruby pulled up for her, letting the box Yang just noticed she was carrying rest in her lap. "So all this for some girl?" 

Yang's eyes flashed red. "She _isn't_ just some girl!" She snapped. "She's," Yang sighed and let her tense body relax as her eyes found Blake's from her guarding post of the front door, "she's everything to me Maria." 

Blake smiled softly and left Raven to guarding the door as she sat next to her on the bed, gently kissing her forehead. Maria huffed in fake annoyance but the small smile that turned up the corners of her mouth said otherwise. She stood and placed the box she had in front of Yang. 

"You're her bodyguard correct?" She asked. "You've been hired to keep her safe?" 

"I am and I have." 

"Well it would be a little difficult to do that with only one arm. Not impossible for a stubborn young thing like yourself, but definitely a hindrance. Lucky for you, you're friends with people who have strong ties to Atlas." 

Yang opened the box, curious as to its contents, and found herself looking at the polished, painted, metal of an Atlas grade mechanical prosthetic arm. It had been painted her signature yellow and her missing Ember Celica had been designed into the limb and laid, neatly folded, on top was a small note. 

_Don't do anything reckless Xiao Long. I would hate for you to need two of these._

_-Chief _

Yang chuckled at the Chief's attempt of consolation and set the limb on the table next to her bed, she would have the doctor help her with it later. "I'll have to send him a thank you basket," she gently grasped Maria's hand. "Thank you Maria. I'm sorry for worrying you." 

"You worried a lot of people young lady," she scolded and returned the squeeze, "but all of us are just glad you're okay." 

Ruby stood and brushed off her pants before helping Maria out of her chair. "I'll go fill everyone in on your condition sis. Figured I would also give you two a moment alone." 

She escorted Maria out, stopping briefly at the door to tell Raven to give them some privacy. Raven glanced back at Yang for confirmation and grumbled as she sulked away from the entrance once Yang nodded. As soon as they were alone Yang attempted to open her mouth to apologize to Blake but was silenced quickly with a heated kiss. 

"I was so worried I'd never be able to do that again," Blake sniffed as a few tears escaped her eyes, her brave persona finally cracking. "You were almost dead by the time we got you here, you'd lost so much blood. You stabilized once your wound was closed and your aura replenished but the doctor said you still weren't out of the red yet. I...I almost lost you." 

Yang's chest tightened at the thought of leaving Blake alone and she touched her forehead to hers, gently rubbing her nose with Blake's. "Hey, you'll never lose me. I'm too stubborn to stay down for good." She whipped her blanket off and stood up, eliciting a worried yelp from Blake. "I've been in this bed for three days and that's at least two days too long for me. Where's that doctor? I wanna get the heck out of here!' 

"Calm down Yang," Blake gently tugged her back onto the bed. "You still need him to fit you with the prosthetic." 

Yang glanced at the limb that still laid pristine in it's box and sighed. "I suppose I shouldn't put it off should I?" 

"The sooner you get it on the sooner you'll become accustomed to it. I know it will be strange at first but if the Chief pulled some favors from Atlas for this then you know it's got to be the best they can offer." 

Yang removed the metal limb from it's box and found it to be surprisingly light. "Maybe with this I can actually do my job correctly." 

"What are you talking about? You're excellent at your job!" 

Yang gently lifted Blake's shirt to reveal the scar that had formed there from Adam's attack on her. "You call this excellent work? He shouldn't have been able to touch you," she gently traced the scar with her thumb, making Blake shiver at the touch. "I always seem to fail at protecting the people I care about. I couldn't save my sister from losing her eye and I couldn't protect you from the one thing I was hired to protect you from," sudden panic spread across her face. "Oh my gods your parents! Ghira's gonna kill me! I had one job! One fucking job and I screwed it up! I'm gonna get fired! I'm-"

Blake covered Yang's mouth with a laugh. "Will you calm down! You're not getting fired Yang. My dad actually wants to talk to you about a permanent position when they get back from Atlas." 

"They still went to Atlas?!" 

"Of course they did. My father wasn't going to let being kidnapped stop him from going to that rally. Him and my mom came by to check on you, my mom cried, my dad got choked up, he dropped off your check, told me to tell you about meeting with him when they get back, and then they left. He's called several times since to check on your progress. He will be pleased to hear you finally woke up!" 

Yang accepted the envelope that Blake pulled from her bag and tore it open, gingerly, with her teeth. She stared at the numbers dotting the check in disbelief. Noticing there was something else inside the envelope, she shook it out and found a short note for her. "Blake, just how rich is your family?" 

Blake chewed the inside of her cheek as she thought then shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure. Never thought to ask. Why?" 

"Because your dad not only overpaid me for my job but he also paid for the entirety of my hospital bills." 

Blake laughed. "Sounds like him. Told you he wasn't mad at you," she stuck her tongue out at her as her scroll began to ring. "Speak of the devil. Hi Dad! Guess who's finally awake? Yeup. She's fine dad. A little shaken up but she's adjusting very well all things considered. With any luck she will be released today. Yes I gave her the envelope. She feels overpaid and like you shouldn't have paid for her hospital bills. Uh huh. Sure thing," she handed the phone to Yang. "He wants to talk to you." 

Yang grabbed the phone awkwardly. "Yessir?" 

"Yang how many times do I need to tell you to stop with the formalities." 

"Sorry. What did you need?" 

"Kali and I will be arriving back from Atlas later today. If you find yourself released from the hospital I would like to have a word with you about that permanent position I offered before all hell broke loose." 

"Of course. I'll message you when I break out of here." 

"Thank you. And Yang?" 

"Yeah?" 

"I'm glad you're alright." 

She smiled, said her goodbyes, hung up the phone, and pressed a button on her bed that called the doctor before eyeing her metal prosthetic nervously. "Alright. Let's get this over with." 

**A/N: Thank you guys so much for your patience with Guardian. This chapter ends the first part of the story so to speak. I had considered splitting it into two fics but decided instead to keep it all together in hopes of making it easier on you guys. Let me know what you think of the story so far in the comments if you think I'm not a complete trash writer. You're support means the world to me guys!**


	27. This Part of You is Beautiful Too

**HEADS UP GUYS THIS CHAPTER GETS PRETTY STEAMY ABOUT HALFWAY THROUGH! JUST THOUGHT I WOULD WARN YOU! **

"Messing with it won't help," Blake said and stopped Yang's fidgeting by grabbing her hand. "It's just going to take a little time to get used to."

Yang huffed and held the arm up to her face, wiggling the fingers. "It's not that it feels weird. Honestly it's the opposite. I was expecting it to feel foreign, heavy, and clunky but really it's light, easy to maneuver, and perfectly proportionate to my other arm. It's just also very..." She trailed off, searching for the right word.

"Distinct?" Blake finished and Yang nodded. "I'm sure it will turn some heads for a moment but there are plenty of people with Atlas tech like that on their body."

"I know, I know. I guess I just never thought I would end up needing it."

Blake snuggled as close to Yang as she could in the car that Ghira sent for them since Yang's bike was still parked at her apartment, and closed her eyes, content for the moment until the driver mentioned they were coming up on the Belladonna house. As they got closer Yang's leg began to bounce nervously and Blake had to calm her down again, assuring her that everything would be fine.

"Yang!" Ghira roared in excitement and picked her up on giant bear hug that was comforting despite it relieving her of her ability to breathe. 

A gentle hand on his shoulder reminding him of his strength. "Perhaps we don't send her back to the hospital the same day she got out dear," Kali flashed Yang a motherly smile. "I'm glad you're back on your feet again."

Ghira set her down and scratched at his beard with a nervous laugh. "Sorry about that! We were all very worried about you. I'm just glad you've healed well."

"Doctor said I've got my aura to thank for that," she grabbed Blake's hand and tugged her a little closer, "but really I think it's cause Blake was there."

Blake's face turned a light shade of pink at their show of affection in front of her parents. "You, uh, you wanted us to come by about Yang's job?"

"We actually have several things we need to talk to you two about but let's move to my office were we can discuss it over a pot of tea."

It didn't take long for Kali to brew her homemade tea and Yang was thankful when she brought them their cups, it helped ease the awkward silence that had filled the room. Ghira took a long sip of his before clearing his throat and flashing them a reassuring smile.

"First things first, I want to formally offer you a permanent position as Blake personal guard. You would be paid more and while you certainly don't have to, you could terminate your renters agreement with your landlord and live here. And don't worry about your relationship together," he added after seeing them exchange a glance. "I told Yang that I feel it gives her even more of a reason to keep you safe."

"Ghira you already overpay me as it is. It would almost feel wrong to accept more money from you."

"Nonsense!" He waved away her concern. "Yang I don't pay you any more than I do my own personal guard and Saber makes more than you due to his years of service to this family. So you'll be taking the job then?"

She stared at her prosthetic and ran her other hand over the metal. "Are you sure you still want to offer it to me?" She muttered. "I mean I failed at my job."

Kali stood from her seat next to Ghira and knelt in front of her, grabbing her metal arm. "You didn't fail Yang. You risked your life for our daughter and she is still here, alive, because you protected her."

"Technically my mom saved us," Yang grumbled. "We would both be dead if it wasn't for-"

Kali's hand shot up and for a second Yang thought she was going to smack her. Instead her hand firmly grabbed her face, squeezing her cheeks together in a childlike fashion. "You listen to me Yang Xiao Long. Just because you weren't the one who chased Adam off doesn't mean you didn't do your job," she tapped her metal arm and gave her a smile. "This is proof of what you are willing to sacrifice for our daughter. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise."

"And I couldn't agree more," Ghira laughed as Kali took her spot next to him again. "I would still like an official answer though."

"Yes," Yang said firmly, gripping Blake's hand in hers. "I'll gladly accept your offer."

"Perfect! Which now brings us to our next order of business. Yang did you talk to your landlord about terminating your contract?"

"No. I never got the chance to before everything happened. But she knows my profession so it shouldn't be an issue and it's not like I have a bunch of stuff anyway. I'm pretty certain it would all fit in that room you gave me."

"Speaking of rooms," Blake nervously spoke up. "Are you guys really gonna make my girlfriend sleep in the room next to me? I know you guys are protective but I'm not a kid anymore."

"Actually neither of you are keeping the rooms we gave you," Ghira said, a small smile on his lips. "Yang did Blake ever mention that this was our second house?"

"She did."

"We had this house designed because we came to Vale often for rallies and meetings. It was a sort of neutral territory given my position of power in Menagerie. However, Kali and I had an ulterior motive for building it."

Yang shot Blake a glance but the confused look her girlfriend had told her that she was just as oblivious to this motive. "And what is this motive?" Blake asked.

"Well, you're a grown up now," Ghira's face was beginning to turn a light shade of red. "And I know that your mother and I can be smothering sometimes. But now you have Yang so we don't have to worry so much. I mean we are still gonna worry it's just-"

Kali covered his mouth with an exasperated sigh. "He was working on that speech for days but I knew he would get to flustered to finish it. Blake, your father and I still have our duties to the people of Menagerie. And he has been away from those duties for long enough. It's time we return home."

"So Yang's coming back home with us?"

"Menagerie is probably the only place on Remnant that I haven't been. Ruby is going to be so jealous."

"Actually neither of you are returning with us. Ghira and I are returning home, alone."

"Alone?!" Blake and Yang exclaimed in unison.

"Well we will be taking Saber and some of the guards," Ghira explained, his face still flushed. "But this house still needs someone to look after it while we are gone and we always planned on that person being you Blake."

"But why?" Blake asked. "I mean why now?"

He let out a long puff of air. "Because this week has painfully put into perspective that, no matter how bad I want to, I can't protect you forever. I need to trust in your ability to protect yourself and trust in Yang's ability to keep you safe."

"And it's not like we can't visit each other!" Kali interjected. "I mean we really do come here often. Besides you're a grown woman in a relationship. A relationship that has needs I'm sure, and living with your parents will sort of put a damper on that."

"Mom!" Blake groaned and covered her face while Yang burst out in laughter next to her. "Can you please spare me 'The Talk' we already had it when I was like ten."

Ghira nodded. "I agree. Or at least wait until I've left the room to have this conversation."

"We can have girl talk later," she winked at them. "Right now I suggest taking a couple days at Yang's to help her pack her things. We will send a trailer to help with the moving when you're done."

Blake shot up, eager to leave the room, and drug a still laughing Yang behind her. "What's so funny?" She asked as she waited for the car to pull around, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Just your reaction to your mom mentioning the needs of our relationship," she poked Blake in the side.

"Sex isn't exactly a topic I want to discuss with my mother, thank you," Blake huffed.

"Oh?" Yang mused and backed Blake against the wall. "Then why not discuss it with me? It's a topic I am very interested in." 

Blake's heart skipped a few beats as Yang got as close to her as she could. She had one hand resting on the wall next to her face while the other rested gently on her hip then she slid one leg between Blake's and lowered her head so they were touching foreheads. _Why does she have to do this to me now?! _ Blake screamed internally. Their first time was, so far, their only time as things sort of got crazy right after but Blake was impatient for more and the hunger in Yang's eyes told said she felt the same.

Not wanting Yang to think she had the upper hand, Blake smirked at her and traced light patterns on her collarbone. "Trust me, I plan to discuss the topic in depth as soon as we get to your place."

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The second they were through the door Yang kicked it shut and had Blake against her wall. The action had taken Blake by surprise but it wasn't long before she helped Yang shrug out of her leather jacket and quickly jumped up to wrap her legs around Yang's waist. In between kisses that were coated in desire and left them little time to breathe, Yang carried her to the bed and gently laid her down. Blake shivered under her touch as Yang slid her hand under her shirt but stopped when she realized it was because she touched her with her prosthetic.

"Sorry," Yang sat up, suddenly self conscious of the mechanical limb. "Metal is a bit colder than skin I guess."

Blake took a moment to gather her thoughts and her breath before she pulled Yang down on the bed and quickly straddled her hips before she could process what happened. "Don't apologize for this Yang," she shed her shirt in a fluid motion and carefully guided Yang's prosthetic back to her body. "This is a part of you now which makes it just as beautiful as the rest of you."

"You know it's weird," Yang huffed a laugh as she allowed Blake to move her hand over various parts of her body. "I can't technically feel with this thing, not like a real hand at least, but when it comes to you it's like I can feel everything," she sat up and trailed kisses along Blake's jaw and collar bone. "How soft your skin is. The warmth of your body. I remember it all and I can feel it." 

Blake shivered under Yang's touch. "I seem to recall that you are very... attentive."

"I seem to recall you quite enjoyed that," Yang flashed her a smirk that quickly turned to amused shock when Blake slammed her back down on the bed by grabbing her wrists and holding them above her head. "You know I could so easily get out of this right?"

"I know," Blake whispered in her ear before giving it a small nip, "but you won't."

Any snarky retort she had went out the window as Blake's lips moved their way down her neck and she moved her hands down her torso. "Are you particularly fond of this shirt?" She asked as she played with the hem of it.

Knowing what she was going to do, Yang shook her head. There's was the sound of tearing fabric and in a matter of seconds Blake had ripped Yang's shirt straight down the middle and returned her mouth to Yang's and set her hands to exploring her now exposed skin. 

Blake's hands were a little cold and the various scars that were scattered around Yang's body were sensitive to her touch as she traced them. This was new to Yang. She was used to giving attention, not receiving it, at least not in this manner. Her attention was solely on Blake last time, and while she found herself enjoying the change she also found herself growing impatient the more Blake made her wait.

"How long are you gonna tease me like this?" Yang was slightly embarrassed to find that she was already out of breath and basically whining as she spoke. 

"Mmmm depends," Blake hummed. "How long are you gonna let me?"

"You're killing me woman!" Yang groaned.

Blake released her wrists and Yang let sucked in a sharp breath as Blake slid one hand past the waistband of Yang's jeans. She was slow and careful but no nearly as nervous as Yang thought she would have been and it wasn't long before she was left shaking as Blake's name left her lips in a pleasurable scream. 

"That was..." Yang struggling to gain her breath back. "Just...wow."

Blake laughed as she collapsed into the pillows next to her. "Not bad for a first timer huh?"

She pulled her into a kiss. "As usual you were perfect." She deepened their kiss, fully intending to return the favor, when a knock came at her door, sharp and hurried.

Blake burried her face in the pillows and let out a noise somewhere between a groan and a frustrated scream. "I just want one day! One whole day to have you to myself. No interruptions! Is that too much to ask?"

Yang chuckled and exchanged her ripped shirt for one that was intact, tossing an oversized shirt to Blake. "It's probably just my landlord. We kinda zoomed up here, I never got the chance to tell her what was going on," but when she opened her door she found, not her old landlord, but a tall man with blond hair and worried blue eyes. "Oh shit."

"Yang," her father sighed. "You've got some explaining to do."


	28. Tai

"D-Dad?" Yang panicked as her father crossed his arms over his chest. "What are you doing here?"

"Are you going to invite me in or do we need to have this conversation on your welcome mat?" 

Yang opened her door in a hurry, embarrassment creeping up her face. It was rare to see her father mad, and not just mad, but the calm kind of mad that said he knew the answers to every question he was going to ask. But, she knew he was going to ask them anyway to see if she would avoid it or try to lie to him. 

He rushed passed her and paced in front of her couch for a moment before holding out his hand. "Let me see it."

_Kinda hard to hide it I suppose. _Yang sighed and grasped his hand with her metal one. "It's really not as bad as it seems dad."

"Not as bad as it seems? Yang I don't hear from you in weeks and the next thing I know your _mother_ shows up on my doorstep saying you lost an arm!"

"I was going to tell you but I have been out the last couple days and was just released today. When the hell did Mom find you?"

"Today," he mumbled as he continued to go over her arm. "She brought me back in one of her portals and dropped me off outside your door. Don't know why she didn't just drop me off inside it's not like you have a roommate."

There was an attention grabbing cough from behind him and he slowly turned around, finally noticing Blake sitting in her bed, nervously playing with the sheets. "Oh! I was unaware you had company."

Blake awkwardly waved. "Nice to finally meet you Mr. Xiao Long."

"Please call me Tai," he corrected her. "I would say it's a pleasure to meet you as well but I'm afraid my daughter has forgotten her manners on introductions so I don't know your name."

"Dad this is Blake," she said as she rushed to her side and helped her off the bed. "She's my girlfriend. I had planned on introducing her to you soon but it seems you beat me to the punch."

He looked them over for a moment before smiling, his former angry demeanor gone. "It's nice to meet you Blake. You must be very special to Yang, she doesn't usually introduce me to her girlfriends."

"She's very special," Yang said and touched her forehead to Blake's. 

Tai huffed and tossed himself on her couch. "Your mother said the guy who did it is still out there somewhere. She has scouts looking for him but they haven't had any luck yet. However, that's all she told me before ducking into another portal. I want to hear what happened from you. The whole story."

So Yang explained everything, starting from the Chief offering her the job and ending with Kali and Ghira's wish for them to take over the house. Blake remained quiet, only filling in the details of her past with Adam and his abduction of her, and Tai listened intently, never interupting. When the tale was done he leaned back and drug his hands down his face as he released a stressful sigh.

"And here I thought having to hear about Ruby breaking Weiss out of her parents house was the worst thing I'd have to hear coming from my children. Shoulda known you'd one up her."

"Hey I didn't technically do anything illegal!" Yang held her hands up in defense. "Weiss's dad tried to have Ruby arrested for kidnapping."

Blake's eyes shot to Yang in shock but decided to ask about it later. Instead she bowed her head respectfully at Tai. "I'm incredibly sorry for the trouble I've caused your daughter."

He laughed gave her head a fatherly pat. "You didn't cause her any trouble Blake, I can assure you. Yang always was a bit of thrill seeker, she lived for adventure when she was young right up her graduation at Beacon. It wasn't until after Ruby's accident that she lost that sense of adventure. It seems you gave her that part of herself back."

"She gave me a lot of things," Yang rested her hand on Blake's knee and gave her a wink. "I'm sorry I didn't contact you earlier dad. I was trying to avoid you worrying."

"I'll always worry about you and Ruby, Yang," his eyes had a sad shine to them. "I know the dangers your jobs put you in but, I also know that you're too stubborn to let something like this keep you down for long. I raised you and your sister to get back up after you're knocked down. So I know that you don't plan to just let this guy go."

Blake's eyes shot to Yang. They never really talked about what they planned to do with Adam. Did Yang plan to hunt him down? What would she do if he showed up again? A small pang of fear tugged at her chest. Yang had already lost an arm to him. What if next time he took her life?

"No I don't," Yang's lilac eyes flashed red for a moment. "As long as he's out there Blake's in danger. I can't let him hurt her again," he grip on Blake's knee tightened. "I have a job to do, and I intend to finish it."

Tai smiled. "I thought so," he stood with a stretch. "Alright! Well I can tell I interupted something and it's getting late. I'm gonna find me a nearby hotel so contact me if you need help packing."

"I'd like that," Yang led him to her door and saw him out, whipping around to face Blake after locking her door. "So...that was my dad."

"He's charming," Blake giggled and made her way back to the bed. "But he did bring with him some questions."

Yang groaned and plopped next to Blake, making her fly an inch or two into the air. "Why'd he have to come by and ruin the mood!" Her groan was muffled by her pillows.

"Well first of all I wanna talk about your sister kidnapping Weiss Schnee."

Yang finally rolled onto her back, a proud grin on her face. "Oh yeah that was a fun day! Remember how my sister said Weiss's father was gonna drag her back home after graduation? But that she gave her a place to stay instead?"

"I vaguely remember it being mentioned at Crosshares."

"Yeah well before that he had already kept her locked at home once. It was technically summer vacation our third year and it was the one year that Weiss actually went home. She figured she couldn't stay away forever and as much as she hates her father she did still have people in that mansion she cared about. Only problem was that after she got there her father had no intention of letting her come back."

"He was just going to force her to stay there?"

Yang nodded. "He never wanted her to go to Beacon in the first place, she fought really hard to get him to allow it, but I think he figured she would 'come to her senses' or whatever and come home on her own. And when she didn't he got mad. So the second she walked over that threshold, she basically walked into her prison cell."

"That's horrible," Blake frowned, a newfound respect for the heiress. "What kind of parent does that."

"Bad ones usually. Well Ruby found out about it and immediately began to panic. Her and Weiss didn't actually start dating until we graduated but Ruby had developed feelings for Weiss long before that. She told me she was going to break her out and I just laughed it off then. Never thought she would have actually done it."

"But how did she do it?"

"We went to Atlas that summer to visit a friend of ours and have her dad give our weapons a bit of a buff. Ruby snuck out while I was asleep and next thing I know there's sirens going off everywhere and she's bursting through our motel door with Weiss wearing her red cloak as a disguise."

"You said Mr. Schnee wanted to press charges? So she was caught?"

"Oh yeah, the police found us pretty quickly. Ruby is fast but she has a tendency to leave a trail. So they followed that back to our room. We were brought in for questioning and Jaques called our father, screaming about how he was going to charge Ruby with kidnapping."

"How did she get out of that?"

"Weiss," Yang shrugged like the answer should have been obvious. "She insisted that she came willingly, that she even reached out to Ruby for help, and that she had no desire to go back home. The charges were dropped, Weiss had a few choice words with her dad, and then she stayed the rest of the summer with us on Patch."

"And that's the worst thing you or Ruby have done until now? Was kidnap a willing heiress?"

"It's the worst thing we got caught doing," Yang winked. "Did I answer your questions?"

"You answered one of them. I have a more serious question now. And I think you know what, or rather who, it pertains to."

"Adam," she growled and followed it with a huff. "Alright then. What's your question?"

"What are your plans for him?"

Yang pulled Blake down with her and gently massaged her ears. "Well I can't do anything to him until I find him. As much as I would like to do that on my own I know that my mom and her scouts would be much faster. Takes a criminal to know one right?"

"And what about when they do find him?" Blake's voice was laced with worry. "He already hurt you Yang, I don't think I could bear it if it happened again."

Yang hugged Blake tighter. "And I couldn't bear it if he got ahold of you again," she kissed the top of her head. "He may have won our first fight, but I don't loose twice."


	29. A Toast

"Dad you can let go now," Blake groaned, hardly able to breathe in her father's bear hug. "It's not like we'll never see you again."

Ghira squeezed her harder. "That doesn't mean I won't miss you."

Kali placed an always gentle hand on his elbow. "We're going to miss our ship if you don't let her go dear."

He released Blake, albeit reluctantly, and turned to Yang. "Don't think that just because you're dating my daughter that you can slack off on your job," he flashed her a smile at the end to let her know he was messing with her.

She held out her hand. "I wouldn't dream of it, sir."

He smacked her hand away and pulled her into the same giant hug he had Blake in, then lowered his voice so his wife and Blake couldn't hear. "Keep me posted on your search for Adam," as they broke apart he gave her a few goods pats to the back and raised his voice to it's normal level. "You're a part of this family now Yang! If you need anything don't hesitate to ask."

"And tell your father he's more than welcome to come visit as well," Kali added.

Yang laughed, remembering how he and Ghira had bonded over their repertoire of dad jokes. "I'm sure he'll be elated."

Blake and Yang waved them off and waited until the ship was out of sight before making their way back to Yang's bike. 

"Gods I missed you," Yang cooed at the machine and and draped her arms over it.

"Yang, it's only been like two days since you were last able to ride it," Blake teased but she was also glad they took the bike. She loved the freedom it made her feel. 

"So, straight home or...?"

Blake shook her head. "Nope. We are off to Crosshares! We promised the others we would stop by to celebrate you finally moving in."

Yang leaned over the bike and gave Blake a quick peck before putting on her helmet. "Great minds think alike."

As they sped down the road Blake and Yang let out a few loud giddy cries as the wind rushed passed them, and their cries were joined as soon as they pulled up to Crosshares where they were greeted by their friends. 

"Saw your parents off okay?" Jaune asked as he held the door open for them.

"After a few bone crushing hugs they made it to their ship alright," Blake chuckled.

"I'll admit I'm gonna miss his hugs," a voice from the bar spoke, "but at least he gave me my job back."

"Ilia?!" Blake shrieked and nearly tackled her friend out of the chair she was in. "I thought you went back under cover for my dad?"

"Nah. I told him I would but he said he would feel better if I took my old security job back. Looks like I'll be back to guarding the Belladonna house."

"What are you doing here though?"

"Yang told me you were gathering for some drinks and you know I wouldn't say no to that."

Blake faced Yang, who simply smiled knowingly in return. She knew that Blake had missed Ilia and had kept the secret for a week that Ilia would be a part of the small guard her parents left behind as security for the house. It was hard, after everything that happened she didn't want to keep anything from Blake ever again but the look of joy on her face as her and Ilia talked and laugh made keeping the secret worth it.

"This seat taken?"

Yang looked up into the bright green eyes of Pyrrha and shook her head. "Currently unoccupied."

She sat down and waved Velvet down for a drink. "Been one hell of a month huh?"

"That's an understatement," Yang huffed and tapped her metal fingers against the bar. 

"Are you...okay after everything that's happened?"

"If you're talking about my arm then yeah. It's taken some getting used to but I've come to terms with it I think."

"It's not just that," as usual her face was etched with worry. "Yang have you even sat down and gone over everything that's happened recently?"

"Like meeting Blake, getting the best job I've had, reconnecting with my sister, and moving into a literal mansion?" Yang kept her tone light and joking in hopes that it would satisfy her friends concern. It did not.

"More like having to hide information from the woman you love, finding an unconscious woman on your doorstep, needing to reach out to your mother, having to set up a search and rescue mission for your girlfriend's parents, save your girlfriend from her crazy ex, and losing a part of you."

"I told you I've come to terms with my arm Pyrrha."

"But not everything else?"

Yang paused, her drink halfway to her lips. In truth she hasn't thought much about how hectic her life had gotten recently. "Guess I just never really slowed down enough to think about it," she let out a half hearted laugh. "My life hasn't been this crazy in two years."

"Reminds you of being a Huntress, doesn't it?" She sounded cautious, like being reminded of her old job would trigger something in her, but Yang just waved down Velvet for another drink and gave Pyrrha a soft pat on the shoulder.

"I appreciate the worry, really I do, but I think I finally found a reason to enjoy adventuring again," her eyes found Blake from across the bar. She was trying to get a very embarrassed Ilia to dance with her and Nora, and by dance she ment Blake just grabbing Ilia by the arms, bouncing around, and twisting. 

Pyrrha gave her a soft, almost motherly, look. "I'm glad, Yang, you deserve it," she stood up with enthusiasm and yanked Yang out of her chair. "C'mon! Let's go join them! Jaune and I haven't gone out dancing in forever and I don't want to pass up this chance to get him on the dance floor."

Yang laughed and followed her. They yelled at the rest of the group to join them, which sent Nora into a frenzy about a dance battle that Ren quickly shut down by mentioning that last time she accidently hurt someone. 

"That was one time and they were the ones that got to close," she grumbled.

Yang slid up to Blake, pressing against her back, and rested her chin on her shoulder. "Mind if I steal her from you Ilia?"

Ilia immediately looked relieved. "I don't mind at all! If you need me I'll just be over at the bar, enjoying a drink."

"So you _do_ like saving damsels in distress?" Blake teased, back still to Yang.

"The only damsel I see here is you," Yang nuzzled into her neck. "I mean your dance moves were certainly a cry for help."

Blake whipped around and playfully smacked her. "They aren't that bad!"

Yang raised an eyebrow. "Take a look around."

Blake sighed and eyed the rest of the room. Ren had gone to sit down and seemed to be enjoying conversation with Ilia, both choosing to be excluded from the dance floor. Nora, Ruby, and Weiss were moving in a way that was definitely choreographed but they still looked good and Blake made a mental note about how it was nice to see a less reserved side to Weiss. Just past the trio was Pyrrha and Jaune. He had Pyrrha in his arms and even when their moves were different they were in sync. He spun her around, dipped her, and even lifted her into the air at one point.

"I'll admit that I didn't expect that from Jaune," Blake mused, impressed.

"Yeah the guy's a goof but a shockingly good dancer. Him and Pyrrha were the talk of our academy dances back at Beacon. They even went off and took some classes together."

"It's cute," Blake sighed and raised her hands in defeat. "Fine. My dance moves suck in comparison, though I don't see you out here dancing."

"Maybe I've got a special dance lined up for you later."

"Color me interested."

"Hey, PDA, get over here!" Weiss yelled, reminding them that they are in a bar surrounded by friends.

They joined the rest of their friends at the bar where Velvet had shots lined up for all of them and Ruby held her glass up, chosing to be the first to make a toast.

"It's been a wild few days guys! But we all made it back," there was a slight pause and Yang saw her sisters face grow a little red in embarrassment as she almost slipped in adding 'in one piece' to the end of her toast. She coughed and gathered herself before she continued. "We all made it back alive and we made a new friend along the way," she flashed Ilia a smile.

Weiss was next, adding to Ruby's sentiment about Ilia becoming a part of their friend group and throwing in that she wouldn't mind going on a few jobs as a group again. Jaune and Pyrrha toasted together about how much they missed everyone and how they needed to get get together more than just once a year. Nora excitedly toasted to completely wrecking a White Fang camp and ended hers by saying she really wanted to spar with Ilia, who enthusiastically agreed. Ren simply held his glass in the air and toasted to friendship, safety, and growth.

"To you guys," Yang joined her glass to the cluster that had formed. "You didn't have to risk yourselves like you did, especially not for people you didn't even know, but I am so thankful you did 'cause there was no way Blake and I could have done that alone. And my sister is right. It's has been one hell of a few days, but we all came out alive. You guys really are the best friends a girl could ask for."

"I second Yang," Blake added as she slid her free arm around Yang. "My family is safe because of you, and I could never thank you enough for it. I had always wanted adventure, real adventure with real friends, and I think I found the best rag tag group of friends to do that with," she turned to Yang as she finally clinked her glass to the rest. "And to you, Yang. My life went from zero to sixty the second I met you in this bar and I couldn't be happier that I snuck out that night. You're the best bodyguard I never asked for, and the perfect girlfriend I always wished for."

The final glass joined the others as Ilia flashed a teasing smile. "If you two are done exchanging wedding vows I think it's my turn," she faced the others and the freckle-like scales on her cheeks turned pink. "I, uh, I never really had many friends aside from Blake. You guys didn't know me, all you had was Blake's word that I could be trusted, and even after finding out I was White Fang you still helped and you still trusted me. So, uh, th-thank you."

They all took their shots and enjoyed a group hug that was filled with laughter and teasing words and after a few more drinks they said their goodbyes and left for home. 

"So are you gonna show me those dance moves you mentioned at the bar?" Blake asked as they began to settle in for the night.

Yang raised an eyebrow at Blake, who was now giggling incessantly at her own teasing as she plopped on the bed. "Babe, how much did you drink tonight?"

Blake held up her hands in an attempt to count, eventually giving up on it. "Ya know...I'm not sure. I didn't know I was supposed to keep track. Why?"

Yang chuckled and knelt in front of her. "Because I think you are drunk."

"I am _not_ drunk, I am pleasantly intoxicated."

"Which is just a fancy way of saying drunk," as she spoke she removed Blake's boots and set them aside before standing to rummage through the dresser to find her something to sleep in. "Think you can manage to get undressed."

She paused when she felt arms snake around her waist and, even through her own shirt, she could tell that Blake had shed her bar clothes. "If you wanted me naked you could have just done it yourself."

Yang turned to face her, pajamas in hand, and gently rubbed her nose to Blake's. "Not tonight," she pulled the pajama top over Blake's head. "We need to get you into these pajamas now."

Blake whined but didn't resist as Yang helped her into the sleepwear. "You have me take off my clothes just to have me put more on?"

"Would you rather sleep in your bar clothes?"

"No."

"That's what I thought," Yang covered Blake in the balnket and kissed her forehead. "Now stay here. I'm going to get you a drink of water."

Blake mumbled incoherently, already half asleep, as Yang quietly left the room and made her way to the kitchen.

"She's going to be so hung over in the morning," Yang mumbled to herself. "I'll be sure to get up early so I can make her breakfast."

"You really do take after your father."

Yang whipped around, her fist raised to attack, only to be face to face with her mother as she stepped out of her portal. Raven smirked at her before gently using the hilt of her sword to lower her daughter's hand.

"I must say the security around here is pretty lax."

"Yeah well I'm pretty sure portalling in here is cheating," Yang leaned against the counter and crossed her arms. "Wanna tell me why you're here?"

"Straight to the point, huh? You know you get that from me right?"

"I've been told we share several qualities," Yang sighed. "Look, it's not that I'm not glad to see you or anything, but I told Blake I'd be bring her some water so if we could make this quick I'd like to get back to her."

"My scouts found Adam."

** A/N: I hope you enjoy this chapter of Guardian guys! Remember that Q&A I mentioned doing like....fifteen chapter ago? I'm probably gonna be finally doing that! I've got a few pulled aside that I've received from here and elsewhere but if you have any new ones for me feel free to drop them here! You guys are the best! **


	30. Breakfast Plans

Yang subconsciously grabbed her metal arm where it meets her skin as a sharp pain shoots through it. "You're sure it's him?"

"Do you doubt me that much?" Raven scoffed. "Yes I am sure. Kind of hard to miss that red hair and arrogant smirk."

"I didn't think you would find him this fast."

Her mom frowned. "What? He hurts you and you think I'm just gonna let him sit for a few days? Did you not want me to find him?"

"No, no I did. I just," she groaned and moved to stand next to Raven, "I don't know. Things have just been incredibly fast paced the last two months and I guess I was just hoping for things to slow down."

"Well it's your call. Do you want me to go after him? Or do you want the information on his whereabouts?"

"I want to know where he is, what he was doing when you saw him last?"

Raven pulled out her scroll and opened a map. "He was at least five hours northeast of here. Looked like he was recovering his wounded pride and broken ranks."

"Broken ranks?"

"Yeah I guess he lost a lot of support after his stunt with you and Blake."

Yang's eyes darted to their bedroom door where Blake was, no doubt, already asleep. "Don't do anything until I talk to Blake first. I want her opinion on this."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" Yang shot Raven a glare and her mother held up her hands.

"Look I'm just saying that he's still likely going to be gunning after her. He wasn't expecting you last time and he still won, you think he won't be ready for you this time? You really want to put Blake in that kind of danger again?"

"Of course I don't! But I won't keep it from her either. The whole reason she got captured last time was because I was hiding what I knew, I'm not making that mistake again."

Raven shrugged and created a portal in one fluid motion. "That's your decision Yang. Just be careful, I may not be able to rescue you this time."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be careful. Don't you have a bandit clan to run or something."

"Don't you have a girlfriend to take care of?" Raven smirked and left through her portal. 

Yang sighed and grabbed the water she had poured for Blake. _I'll deal with this in the morning, after Blake is sober._ Inside their room Blake slept soundly. Yang set the water on the bedside table along with a few pills for the headache she was bound to have in the morning then leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead before crawling under the covers next to her. Still asleep, Blake rolled over and snuggled into her chest almost as if it was instinctual. 

"I won't let him hurt you this time," Yang whispered as she wrapped her arms around her. "I promise."

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blake's head was pounding when she finally woke up. She kept her eyes closed for awhile, knowing that opening them would send a fresh round of pain through her skull. Eventually she sat up with a groan and felt the other side of the bed where Yang would be and found it empty. A quick glance at the clock revealed it to be almost ten in the morning.

"She was probably awake at like six," Blake chuckled and looked to the bedside table where she found water, headache medicine, and a note. 

_Good morning or afternoon or whenever it is you wake up! I'm sure you'll need these after last night. I hope you're hungry! 'Cause I'm making us breakfast._

She chuckled at the sweet note and took the medicine she was given, hoping it worked quickly, and made her way to the bathroom where she immediately cringed at her own reflexion. 

"Gods how much did I drink last night?" She groaned and washed her smeared makeup off. 

Downstairs she could hear music and walked into an endearingly funny sight that was happening in the kitchen. Several breakfast items were strewn on the island counter top ranging everywhere from oatmeal to some sort of breakfast casserole and standing at the stove, dancing and singing, was Yang and Ilia. 

"Plate please!" Ilia called after flipping a few pancakes.

Yang danced over to cabinet and then retraced her dance steps back before sliding the plate to Ilia, who was using her spatula as a microphone. Blake tried to stifle her laughter but Yang turned around and beamed at her. "You're awake! Dance with me!"

She shimmied to Blake who protested in between fits of laughter but her girlfriend still managed to twirl her around the kitchen a few times. "You're awefuly giddy this morning."

"She's was already up and dancing when I got here a couple hours ago," Ilia turned off the stove and joined her plate of pancakes to the buffet that was over taking the kitchen. 

"First day back as part of our guard and you're making breakfast. Not exactly what you signed up for is it?"

"I signed up to help Yang keep you safe and because you're my best friend," Ilia messed up Blake's hair and she slipped passed her to the fridge. "I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to kick someone's ass later."

Blake felt Yang shift next to her and looked up to see her happy morning demeanor fall. "What's wrong?"

"Speaking of kicking someone's ass," she trailed off and sat down on a stool with a sigh. "My mom paid me a visit last night."

"How the hell did she get in here?" Ilia whipped around, nearly spilling the jug of orange juice she had.

"Raven can portal to people she's connected to," Blake explained. "I'm assuming she didn't do so without a reason though."

Yang shook her head. "She had a reason and a good one."

Blake searched Yang's face for the answer and her heart tightened when she saw it. "She found him already?" Yang nodded. "That's a lot quicker than what I thought it would be."

"She found Adam?" Ilia set the jug down and leaned on the counter. "Where's he at?"

"A few hours northeast. According to my mom's scouts he seems to be nursing his wounded pride. I guess he lost a lot of support with his failed stunt."

"Sounds like now is the best time to go after him," Ilia suggested. "Strike him while he's down."

"What do you think Blake?" Yang tugged her closer and Blake was glad for the comfort. 

"He's lost power," she muttered, "and power is everything to someone like him. You would think that would make him weaker but really it more than likely just made him feral. He's not going to stay hidden for long."

"That's what I was thinking too," Yang nodded solemnly before quickly switching the subject with a clap. "But we can't take down your asshole ex on an empty stomach. Let's eat!"

Blake was glad for the change of topic and their breakfast continued smoothly. All talk of Adam was pushed aside in favor for talk of fun or embarrassing memories. Once their plates where clean Ilia excused herself to go check on the other guards Ghira had left to watch over them and it was after the door closed behind her that Blake saw Yang's smile fall. 

"You know your eyebrows crinkle when you're thinking about something," Blake light-heartedly teased and rubbed the space between Yang's eyebrows. "Care to share?"

"I'm just thinking about you," she tried to give Blake a soft smile but it fell flat.

"With that look? Gods I hope not," Blake snickered as Yang gave her a playful shove. "I'm serious though Yang. Something is bothering you. It's been bothering you since I woke up, you were just hiding it so I wouldn't worry and Ilia wouldn't ask."

"You could tell huh?"

"Eyebrow crinkle remember."

Yang sighed. "Alright don't get mad but-"

"You never start a sentence with don't get mad but-" Blake groaned and rested her head on Yang's shoulder. "But you may continue."

"I want you to stay here," Yang's voice was barely a whisper and Blake felt her heart drop. "I don't want you to come with me to face Adam."


End file.
